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PETITION FOR EARLY ROAD (SEPTEMBER, 1727) 
(MARDIN ZARBEN) MARTIN ZERBE, ONE OF THE SIGNERS 



COPY 



(Taken from the orig-inal petition for early road shown on 
opposite page.) 

September, 1727. 
To the Honorable Bench. 

We whose names are hereunto subscribed, ye inhabitants 
of ye North west parts of ye Township of Oley, Tolpehockan, 
and parts adjacent. Having no Road as yet estab- 

lished amongst us, by means whereof we suffer diver incon- 
veniences and a great part of ye land at present not Settled, 
through which ye hereby petitioned road is naturally designed 
to go by means of whereof there will be no opposition made in 
ye laying of it out. 

Wherefore, we your Petitioners humbly request that you 
will be pleased to order a High road to be laid out, Beginning 
at the Lutherian Meeting House at Tolpehockan to end in the 
high road, at ye Quakers Meeting House near George 
Boone's Mill in Oley. 

And your petitioners shall ever pray. 



Frederick Schaefifer, 

Adam Lish, 

N. Nevs, 

Nicholas Rienr, 

Mardey Stub, 

Anthonn Schadt, 

Jacob Korbell, 

Johan Henrich Schnchert. 

Nicholas Schaeffer, 

Michael Ernst Herner, 

Johannes Christman, 

Stephan Wasseicheidt, 

Adam Walbornn, 

Jacob Kobft, 

George Lish, 

Abraham Link, 

Nicholas Rull, 

Cunrath Diffenbach, 

*Zerbey History, Part 2. 



Petter Klub, 
Sebastian Fischer, 
Lenhart Riet, 
Jasper Riet, 
Mardin Battdorfif, 
Lenhart Feg, 
Phillip Braun 
*MARDIN ZARBEN, 
Michael Aenrich, 
Johan Entenfelt, 
Benjamin Boone, 
Isaac Wiseman, 
John Collins, 
Joseph Baker, 
Jonathan Baker, 
Hugh Edward, 
William Roberts, 
Peter Hilton. 



IN THE COURT OF QUARTER SESSIONS OF THE 
PEACE, OF THE COUNTY OF PHILADELPHIA. 



In re opening of High Road, at Tulpehocken, &c. 
September Sessions, 1727. 



I certify the foregoing to be a true and correct copy of 
the original petition in the case above stated, as full, entire 
and complete as the same now remains of Record in this 
office. 

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and 
affixed the seal of the said Court this twenty-sixth day of 
February, A. D. one thousand nine hundred and twelve, 
(1912.) 

JOHN E. WALSH, 
(Seal) Pro. Clerk. 




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COPYRIGHT 1916 

BY 

MRS. ELLA ZERBEY ELLIOTT 



\L- II % 



PRESS OF POTTSVILLE, PA., "REPUBLICAN" 
E. L. CLIFFORD mA\^^Y "•- ^' ' ''• "• ZERBEY, Jr. 

BUStNESS MANAGER "Sfct ^- ,- ASSOCIATE EDITOR 

JAN -5 1916 
©C1.A418486 



SCHUYLKILL CO. BLUE BOOK 
Contents 



CONTENTS 



120 
141 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

Follow 

Frontispiece-Road Petition, Year 1727. Page .^ 

Martin Zerbe's Homestead ^^ y 

Pioneer Homestead Map, 1723 42 

Early Church, built 1727 ^g 

Conrad Weiser's Signature ','':" :V:'^ \" ' Vn'^n 79 

Patent from John Penn to Seven Stars (Minnich) Property, 1750 72 

Land of Early Settlers on Tulpehocken 

Schuylkill County Erected irk ^ 

Site of Mill John4 Zerbe, Tulpehocken om\^ 

Mardin Zarvas Run, 1723, Wm. Penn Grant ^"" 1' 

Rear of Homestead of Martin Zerbe's Land ^"» 

Map George Zerbe Land, Schuylkill Haven ^^^ 

George Zerbe Homestead, near Orwigsburg, Pa ofiS;^'' 

Water Right Agreement Johannes Zerbe, 1747 

Site of John Zerbe's Old Mill 

Conrad Minnich Map, Land Deed 

Stout Homestead, Settled 1736 

Ancient Schwalm Castle .„. 

Andrew Schwalm Homestead, Orwigsburg, Pa 



308 
366 
392 
414 



PART I. 

Translation of Road Petition. *^^ 

Title Page g 

Foreword 22 

Prologue j5 

Huguenots and Palatines • :'"'„''' \'r,l'n IR 

Settlers in Interior Eastern Pennsylvania, 1750-1752 Jo 

1730-1780 22 

German Immigration 

Huguenots and Palatines: 

Come to London 

Invitation to America 



25 

■■■]■■"■■■ 25 

Oft 

Sail for New York 

Who Settlers Were 29 

Settle in New York g. 

Queen Anne's War ' 



ii BLUE BOOK OF 

Contents 

Huguenots and Palatines, Continued: Page 

Soldiers in War, 1711 31 

Company Lists 34 

Their Lands Resold 34 

Pennsylvania Pioneers of 1723: 

The Thirty-Three Families 36 

Settlers Petition Governor 38 

First Church Built, 1727 42 

Petition for Roads, 1727 43 

Tulpehocken Confusion 44 

Province of Pennsylvania 50 

Organization of Pennsylvania Counties to 1811 51 

Petition for New County 54 

Remonstrate Against Revising Constitution 56 

Failed 56 

Constitution Amended 57 

Indian Troubles in Pennsylvania: 

Indian Troubles 58 

Policy 59 

Forts 59 

First Fort Dupui , 60 

Fort Augusta 60 

Blue Mountain Forts 61 

Forts Lebanon and Franklin 63 

Chain of Forts 64 

Friendly Indians 65 

Indian Atrocities 67-69 

The Finschers and Millers 70 

John Penn Patent to Seven Stars (Minnich) Property, 1750.. 73 

Neyman and Other Massacres 74 

Indian Stories 75-80 

War of the Revolution: 

War of the Revolution 81 

Oath of Allegiance 85 

Recruits From Schuylkill (Berks) Co 85-97 

Zerbes, Grubers, Rebers, Stouts, Swartzs, Merkles, Rieths, 

etc., in the Early Wars 97-104 

Family Traditions 107-109 

War of 1812-1814: 

Soldiers From Schuylkill County 109-113 

Mexican War: 

Schuylkill County Represented 114-120 

The Early Settlers: 

Early Notable Settlers 122 

Conrad Weiser's Diary 124-132 

Governor Schulze Story 134 

Baltzar Gehr, Jacob Morgan, Douglass Family, etc 135-141 

Schuylkill County Erected From Berks 141 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY i" 

Contents 



Who Was Who: Page 

First Settlers of Schuylkill County 149 

Neuferts, Whetstones, Potts 149 

Klocks, Christs, Bresslers 150 

Potts, Helms, Hessers 151 

The Morris' 154 

Boyers, Guldins, Colemans 155 

Bocks, DeTurks, Mortimers 159 

John R. and Benjamin B. Bannan 160 

Lindemuths, Matzs, Roseberrys 163-167 

Braun-Brown Family 168 

Filberts, Weidmans, Krebs, Tysons 170-171 

Spohns, Bechtels, Palmers 173-174 

Kaerchers, Kepners, Shippens 1'75 

Hobarts, Bairds, Pattersons 177-179 

Zellers, Rahns, Seitzingers 180-182 



PART II. 

Genealogical Records: 

Origin of the Zerbeys 187-192 

Zerbeys in America 192-194 

First Generation 194 

The Manors 198 

Second Generation 200 

(MARTIN ZERBE'S LINE) 

John Jacob Zerbe 200 

John Zerbe 203 

Heinrich Boyer 204 

Albrecht and John Philip Strauss 204 

George Peter Zerbe 207 

Third Generation 211 

Peter, Jr., Elizabeth, Valentine 211 

Michael 212 

John George Zerbe 216 

(John) George and Anna Barbara Zerbe's Children.. 220 

Hon. Daniel Zerbe 222 

Herring Family Tradition 225 

Daniel Zerbe, Cressona 226 

Henry Zerbe, Lewistown, Mifflin County, Pa 227 

John Adam Miller 229 

Fourth Generation 232 

George Zerbe 232 

Children 233-239 

Rev. Frank Ellsworth Graeff, D. D 238 

Wm. Merkle Zerbey 239 

John F. Zerbey Family 241 

Heber S. Zerbey Family 241 

Joseph Henry Zerbey Family 242 

"Pottsville Republican" 242 

Robert A. Zerbey Family 245 



iv BLUE BOOK OF 

Contents 

Genealogical Records, Fourth Genration, Continued Page 

Frederic E. Zerbey Family 245 

"Schuylkill Weekly Republican" 246 

Charles D. Elliott 246 

Ella Zerbey Elliott 246 

Adelia E. Zerbey Family 249 

Sara Frances Zerbey Family 250 

Rieths or Reeds 250 

War Records 254 

Ship Lists 257-258 

Zerfass, Serf as, Surber, Sarvar, Sevir, Sarvas 258-260 

Unclassified Zerbes 259 

British Oath of Allegiance 260 

Penna. Oath of Allegiance 261 

Taxables in Berks County, 1752 262 

Early Churches in Schuylkill County 262 

The First Census 262 

Grubers Intermarried 263 

Sontag Family 266 

(LORENTZ ZERBE LINE) 

First Generation 266 

Lorentz Zerbe Family 267 

Second Generation 269 

John Zerbe, the Miller, Family 271 

Blue Mountain Lands < 272 

Tulpehocken Confusion 274 

Second and Third Generations 276 

Dr. Samuel and Maria Isles 277 

Leonard Zerbe 279 

Valentine Zerbe 280 

Christian Zerbe 281 

Benton H. Zerbe 282 

John Zerbe's Law Suit 284 

Nathan Zerbe 287 

John Zerbe, Cumru Township 288 

Third and Fourth Generations 289 

Jonathan and David Zerbe 289-291 

Rev. John W. Zerbe 292 

George Adam Zerbe, Land and Family 294-297 

George Zerbe, Tulpehocken, and Family 297-298 

Tyrone and Altoona Zerbes 298 

Reading, Pa., Zerbes 299 

Unclassified Zerbes 301 

Location of Land, Early Settlers 303 

Host's Church 304 

The Jacob Zerbes 304 

Joel Zerbe Children 307 

Philip Zerbe, of Washington Twp., Schuylkill Co 309 

Descendants 309-323 

Centre County Zerbes 323-325 

Northumberland County Zerbes 325-332 

Old Church, and Tombstone Records 333-347 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 

Contents 



PART III. 

Page 

Allied Families 351 

Merkles 351 

Church Records 351-355 

Taxables 355 

In Wars 357 

Wills and Records 357 

Michael and Elizabeth, Children 359 

Daniel Bartolet's Descendants 361 

Isaac Strauch 362 

Michael Merkle Family 363 

Minnich, Muench History 364 

Capt. Conrad Minnich 367 

Hotel 371 

Conrad Minnich, Second 373 

Graves of 1776 Men Marked 376 

Minnich, Minnig Genealogy 378-387 

Phila. Branch Muenchs 387-393 

Staudts, Stoudts, Stouts 393 

"^ Miller, Filbert, Kershner, Lerch, Ebling, Snyder, Mau- 

rer, Wagner and other Families 393-397 

Marriages, Land Warrants 397 

Muellers (Millers) 398 

Henry Miller 399 

Family History 399-402 

Andrew and Elizabeth Miller, Descendants 403-409 

History of the Reber Family 409 

Conrad Reber Descendants 409 

The Wildermuth Family 411 

Origin of the Schwalms 413 

First Schwalms in America 413 

Caspar Phillips' Children 416 

Baptismal Records 417 

Andrew Schwalm, Sr., Family 418 

Andrew and Hannah Schwalm Family 420 

Frederic and Catharine Haeseler Family 421 

Haeseler's Ancestry 423 

William E. Boyer Family 427 

Dr. Francis W. Boyer Family 427 

James A. Medlar Family 428 

Edmund S. Boyer 428 

Boyer Ancestry 429 

John Andrew Schwalm Family 430 

Dr. Thomas W. Swalm 430 

Allen H. Swalm 430 

Henry A. Swalm 430 

Joseph M. Schwalm Family 431 

Sarah L. Schwalm 432 

Thomas Clouse and Amanda Schwalm Family 432 

Thomas K. Wagner and Susan J. Schwalm Family 432 

Hegins Valley Schwalms 433 

Hubley Township Schwalms 435 



VI 



SCHUYLKILL CO. 



BLUE BOOK 
Contents 



Page 

Pottsville Erected 437 

Great Road or King's Highway 437 

Turnpike Roads, Canal, Railways, Stages, etc 438-440 

Discovery of Coal 440 

Settlers of Norwegian Township 441 

Pottsville Erected 443 

Pottsville's First Houses and First Settlers 443-445 

Old Time Stories 447-455 

Hessian Ancestors 455 

Wills Probated Before 1800 455-456 




lluf look of 



THE ILLUSTRATIONS HAVE BEEN MADE FROM ORIGINALS DESIGNED 
SOLELY FOB THIS WORK. 



FOREWORD 



In preparing this work, which includes the labor of years, 
the author has used only the best means available for the 
purpose. The idea of presenting such an array of facts, that 
makes of the book one neither entirely for private circulation, 
nor yet one solely for public distribution, first occurred to the 
writer about ten years ago, when after gathering much 
genealogical matter, for the main branch of the family, it was 
found that it was so involved with, and a part of, the pathetic, 
beautiful and romantic history, of the Huguenots and Pala- 
tines of the old world, thousands of whom were subsequently 
the founders of interior southeastern Pennsylvania and parts 
of other States, that it was next to impossible to divorce the 
one from the other. 

The early settlers of Pennsylvania were not a showy race, 
they were plain and unassuming people, but they made his- 
tory and it seemed incumbent upon the author to transmit and 
preserve it. We are the descendants of French and German 
ancestry. There are those who are inanely ashamed of their 
descent and have a horror of being counted among the Penn- 
sylvania Germans. We are not of these. We are proud of 
our birthright. We have the homely treasure of a dialect 
peculiarly our own and we glory in its quaint figures of speech, 
so largely corrupted with the English, that as a sub-language 
or idiom it must soon be relegated to the archives of the past. 

The Pennsylvania Germans and Huguenots were mainly 
husbandmen and tillers of the soil. To their untiring industry 
and perseverance, that wielded the maul, the axe and the 
mattock, felling the majestic monarchs of the forest and turn- 
ing the almost impenetrable wilderness into arable fields, 
rich with tasseled wheat and ripened corn ; and making the 
barren wastes green with verdure and the bleak hillsides to 



lo BLUE BOOK OF 

Foreword 

blossom like the rose, to them, is due much of the present 
flourishing condition of this our native State. 

Plain, but lo3^al and God-fearing citizens of this Com- 
monwealth and the States of the Union in which their de- 
scendants have found homes, they possessed indomitable will, 
energy and perseverance and were of the stock, from which 
subsequently, sprung men in every walk of life, from the 
highest ofifices in the gift of the people ; the presidency, the 
gubernatorial chair, the Senatorial, Congressional, and Leg- 
islative chambers, the highest professions, the brave soldier 
and sailor, on land and sea, down to the plain and unassum- 
ing civillian who filled his mission by performing his simple 
duty in life. All honor to the Pennsylvania Germans ! 

To the works from which the book has been partly com- 
piled : the Pennsylvania Archives, The Pennsylvania German 
Society Publications, Transactions of the Moravian Historical 
Society, the Pennsylvania Associators, Rupp's and Montgom- 
ery's Histories of Berks County, Cobb's Palatines, Koeppen's 
Middle Ages, Menzel's Germany, Palatine Refugees in Eng- 
land, Wheaton's Northmen, etc., etc., we are largely indebted. 

The courtesy of Dr. J. AV. Jordan, and his assistant 
Librarian, Ernest Spofiford, of the Pennsylvania Historical 
Society Library, Philadelphia ; Dr. Schulze and Prof. Wm. A. 
Schwarze, of the Moravian College and Archives, Bethlehem ; 
the officials of the Pennsylvania State Library, Harrisburg, 
and the custodians of historical society libraries in Reading, 
Lebanon, Lancaster, and Harrisburg, in submitting original 
manuscripts for our inspection, for material, cannot be over- 
estimated nor too warmly commended. 

The attachees of the Chester, Lancaster, Dauphin, Berks, 
Northumberland, and Schuylkill County Courts and the Court 
of Quarter Sessions, Philadelphia, and the custodians of the 
records of some of the early churches, were uniformly oblig- 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY ii 

Foreword 

ing in their offers of assistance in the unearthing of records. 
Many individuals, too, lent their best endeavors and through 
these the work was made possible. 

To the chronological and genealogical data of the Zerbe 
line, many of the family name contributed and rendered in- 
valuable assistance. Others, too, collaborateurs in genealog- 
ical lines that were involved with the above, gave aid and the 
results speak for themselves. 

The many difficulties to be contended with in a work of 
this nature, are but little understood by the average critic, 
who rarely sees anything to commend but seeks rather to con- 
demn or tear down that which he, perhaps, could not origin- 
ate or erect, himself ; we pass him by and without further 
apology, present the work to those interested and to an in- 
dulgent public. 

ELLA ZERBEY ELLIOTT. 



13 BLUE BOOK OF 

Prologue 



PROLOGUE 



It seems singular to the student of the present time, that 
only within the last thirty years has the history of the United 
States been considered of enough importance to be included 
in the curriculum of the large universities, in this country. A 
yovmg man could, three decades ago, graduate from a four 
years' course in Harvard College, with all the honors and yet 
not know, even, of the existence of the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence or how the Constitution of the United States was 
framed. Other colleges, too, ignored American History. A 
boy was required to know of the history of Greece and Rome 
and during the term he was permitted to acquaint himself 
with the history of England, but that of the United States 
was ignored. An inspection of the curriculum of our public 
schools at the present time, too, reveals the fact that history 
is studied in a formal way for one year only, the eighth. This 
condition of things, happily, is passing away ; an effort now 
being made to introduce into the schools, as text books, such 
parts of Pennsylvania history that are relative to general 
school work. 

New England history, as written, was largely biased by 
prejudice or else the truth was wilfully perverted. In the 
minutes of the Proprietary Government of Pennsylvania, and 
such reports as have been published in the Archives, there 
are found facts that prove this assertion. 

The official records of a State alone can preserve its true 
history. The States of New York, Massachusetts, Virginia 
and others began the publication of their Colonial and Revo- 
lutionary history before Pennsylvania awakened to the fact 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY ^3 

Prologue 

that she was lagging behind and it was not until April, 1837, 
that the immediate publication of the Colonial Records was 
ordered by the Legislature. 

In 1752 the Assembly directed the publication of the 
Journals of the House, from 1684, which up to that date had 
remained in manuscript. These annals are records of the 
uninteresting details of the government of the colonies of 
Great Britain and much that should have gone down in his- 
tory was suppressed, as State secrets, for fear of the displeas- 
ure of the British government. 

With the opening of the French and Indian wars the 
history of Pennsylvania became replete with interest. The 
Indian massacres along the frontier, the letters of the British 
officers and others higher up in the English government, make 
a wonderful story and one that no one who professes to be 
conversant with early history dare long remain unfamiliar 
with. 

No state in the Union has a history of greater import- 
ance than Pennsylvania. In her metropolis was located the 
seat of the colonial government when liberty was declared 
and on her borders and within her domain the decisive strug- 
gle for independence culminated. It was in this State that 
American Independence had its birth and here, too, when the 
cause under Washington was almost hopeless and the New 
Englanders deserted it and went home, that Pennsylvania 
arose in its supremacy and saved the day. 

The commonwealth is slowly unveiling the rich treas- 
ures in her possession but many, too, of the invaluable docu- 
ments in her vaults were lost, through the ravages of time, 
dampness and mildew and through the peculations of dis- 
honest custodians, who were the prey of private collectors; 
and some through lack of binding or transmission to print, 
and others to the careless methods with which they were 
preserved. 



14 BLUE BOOK OF 

Prologue 

It is a discredit to Pennsylvania that a more thorough 
and systematic effort is not made by authorized bibliograph- 
ers ; in addition to the transcribers employed on the archives, 
to at once rehabilitate what remains of these rich and rare 
treasures, as every year of delay means an added loss. 

The Moravian, Lutheran and Reformed churches, in the 
theological state libraries, at their colleges and seminaries, 
too, contain many untabulated original manuscripts in the 
German script that remain untranslated and are fast fading 
away. 

What is true of the State and church, is also true of the 
individual. The history of the early pioneers is rich with 
information interwoven with the struggles, fortitude, endur- 
ance and sterling worth and work of the colonists, that re- 
mains uncovered and unhonored, through the apathy and 
carelessness of their descendants, and the custodians of docu- 
ments that relate to their history. 

The early pioneers passed through many stirring and 
even thrilling vicissitudes, but they were formed of the fibre 
that makes heroes and not only endured untold hardships but 
lived and even thrived under them. Without the help of these 
rugged and fearless people, the nation under its heroic lead- 
ers, in the struggle for liberty, would have sunk into the 
depths of thraldom, unknown decay and servitude to an older, 
wealthier and more powerful country and liberty would never 
have been proclaimed throughout our beloved land. 



race 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY ^5 

Huguenots and Palatines 



The Huguenots and Palatines 

HAT Norsemen and not Christopher CoUimbus discovered 
America and also, that, to the Teutonic race belongs 
that honor, is conceded by scholars and historians. 
The Norse Sagas embody the real history of the Germanic 
.... Greenland has many evidences of their settlement and 
farther south there are relics and proofs that the North American 
Indians absorbed these races and, as Father Charlevoix, Jesuit 
Priest, states, 'Taught the aborigines the story of the cross be- 
fore the advent of the early missionaries," who have been 
accredited with that pioneer work. 

Writers of American history, thus far, have not accorded 
the Germans their due, in regard to the discovery of this Con- 
tinent The injustice of biased statements or else the total ig- 
noring by historians of what was done by Germans in the 
exploration, development and early settlement of America, has 
led the Pennsvlvania German Society, a body of men composed 
of Pennsylvanians, born of German descent, to decree the com- 
pilation of a new and critical history of this Commonwealth. A 
large sum of money has been subscribed to enable Savants to 
make a thorough research of the libraries and repositories of 
learning in the old world; and particular epochs and sections are 
made the especial study of members of the Society appomted 
for the purpose and the results forthcoming are of such a com- 
prehensive and thorough nature as to revolutionize many hereto- 
fore accepted historical facts and add many unknown truths to 
the basis of those already proven^. 

(New History of Penna. The Penna. German Society, Vol. VII., pp. 
33-198.) 



i6 BLUE BOOK OF 

Huguenots and Palatines 

The Swedes were the first settlers in Pennsylvania in 1638. 
The first commissioners from Wm. Penn to treat with the Indi- 
ans came over in 1681, and Wm. Penn, himself, arrived Oct. 2"], 
1682.2 In 1701 a small colony of Swedes settled on the Schuyl- 
kill River near the mouth of the Manatawny Creek, 10,500 acres 
were surveyed and layed off for them. They built the first 
church for religious worship, in interior Pennsylvania, 1716, 
and owing to the amicable relations between themselves and the 
Indians, called their settlement Amity (Chester County). This 
name has been retained as the name of that township, in Berks 
County, to the present day. A small colony of Germans came in 
1 712 and settled on Manatawny Creek. Then another colony 
of thirty-three families came in 1723, journeying south from 
New York. ^' ^ 

They were Huguenots and Palatines, who had cast their lot 
together, in a common cause, to escape religious persecution, fled 
their native land and came to the new world to build up homes 
away from the thraldom and dictation of Kings and Princes. 

During the middle of the i6th century, the reformers under 
Calvin became strong in France, not only as a religious sect but 
as a political body. The name Huguenots was given them in 
derision and they were bitterly opposed by the French Court 
and disliked by the Roman hierarchy. Strong in their Pro- 
testant belief they could not change it to conform with that of 
the ruling prince. 

Frederic II, the elector Palatinate, was a Lutheran, Frederic 
III a Calvanist. Ludovic V restored the Lutheran Church, his 
son who succeeded him became a Calvinist and he was succeeded 
by a Catholic, who cruelly oppressed the Protestants. 

In 1634 the city of Heidelberg was taken by Louis XIV of 
France. In 1688 the French army invaded Germany and devas- 
tated the beautiful Palatinate of the Rhine, causing suffering and 



(Note 1 — D. Rupp, Thirty Thousand Immigrants, Appendix.) (Penna. 
Archives, Vol. 7, p. 291.) 

(Note 2— Penna. Archives, Vol. 7, pp. 118, 125, 262.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY ^7 

Huguenots and Palatines _^ 

desolation worse than the German war, which brought ruin and 
starvation to thousands. More than 40 cities and hundreds of 
towns and villages were reduced to ashes. The inhabitants were 
driven into the fields in mid-winter. The cities of Manheim, 
Heidelberg, Worms, and Mayence were partly destroyed. The 
city of Heidelberg was rebuilt and in 1693 was again taken by the 
French and laid in ashes. 15,000 men, women and children were 
made homeless, stripped of all their possessions, turned into the 
fields by night, destitute and half naked, but with characteristic 
pluck they again rebuilt the city and restored their homes under 
the promise that they should have protection. 

The inhabitants of Alsace and Lorraine were possessed of 
distinct traits of character, which distinguished them from the 
Palatines among whom some had already cast their lot, when 
Francis I determined to crush the heretics. The King's sister, 
Marguerite, afterward Queen of Navarre, with other distin- 
guished nobles had espoused their cause and the King was at 
first inclined to deal tolerantly with them, but he recanted. 

Henry of Navarre, afterward King Henry IV, when heir 
to the French crown, espoused their cause. The massacres on 
St. Bartholomew's day were horrifying.^ The number of 
victims is differently estimated. De Thou fixes it at 30,000, 
DeGully at 70,000. In 1598 he rewarded them by promulgat- 
ing the "Edict of Nantes." They were not satisfied with its 
provisions, which angered the King and he determined to 
exterminate them. The Huguenots were growing too power- 
ful politically as well as religiously. In 1590 they worship- 
ped in 3,500 chateaux and 200 towms. 

The Edict of Nantes was revoked October 15, 1685. During 
the 87 years of its outward protection many subterfuges were 
resorted to under the dominance of the King, to destroy the 
growing power of these people. Louis XIV did not use the 
same prudence with them that Richelieu and Mazarin dictated, 
but began a series of persecution that in 1657 amounted to a war 

■ (Note 1 — Wars Between France and Germany, McCabe.) 



i8 



BLUE BOOK OF 
Huguenots and Palatines 



of extermination. Seven hundred of their churches were de- 
stroyed. Thousands of them could not stand the oppression and 
yielded, but others suffered death rather than sacrifice their prin- 
ciples. 

Many fled the sunny land, where their thrift and industry 
had created an Elysian bower, and where the vine and fruitage 
and broad acres smiled, with the results of their culture and 
labor. 

Fully one million French subjects renounced their beautiful 
land and left their homes to escape this worse than death torture. 
The revocation of the Edict of Nantes crushed and wiped out 
more than half of the commercial and manufacturing interests of 
the nation and despoiled thousands of acres of the best fruit- 
age and cultivated land in the kingdom. 

The young men crowded into the armies arrayed against 
the French nation, that they might avenge their wrongs and 
the men, women and children fled to Bavaria, Holland, Switzer- 
land and the upper and lower German Palatinate, becoming 
refugees and joining in a common cause with the Palatines, that 
they might escape the oppression and begin life anew in the 
new world. 

Among those who came to interior eastern Pennsylvania 
from 1710 to 1752, occur these names, and others, whose de- 
scendants in Berks and Schuylkill Counties are among the best 
known and most prominent citizens •} 



Aurand, 

Barnard, 

Beyer, 

Bayer-Boyer, 

Baudeman, 

Bertolette, 

Baumgardner, 

Baeshore, 

Beauman, 



De Benneville, 
De Puis, 
De Bow, 
De Turck, 
De Keim, 
De Frehn, 
De Wald, 
Delchamp, 
Forrer, 



Ferney-Forney, 

Huber, 

Herbein, 

Hess, 

Tonnelier-Kieffer, 

Le Van, 

La Pierre-Stein, 

Meyer-Moyer, 

Reyer-Royer, 



(Note 1 — Ship Lists, Penna. Archives, 2nd Series, Vol. XVII.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 
Huguenots and Palatines 



19 



Sallade, 
Zarva-Sarva-Sevier. 



Marquette, Pershing, 

Merclen-Merkle, LeChar-Lecher, 

Molette, Sellaire-Zeller, 

The majority of these names have been changed in the 
spelHng but their origin remains the same. The above were, 
with others, from Alsace and Lorraine, who left France on the 
revocation of the Edict of Nantes. Others, whom the blind 
bigotry of monarchs drove across the seas to settle in eastern 
Pennsylvania, from 1730 to 1780, were: 



Althouse, 

Bergan, 

Bland, 

Bechtel, 

Batdorf, 

Bossard, 

Boone, 

Clemens, 

Conrad, 

Deibert, 

Dreibelbeis, 

Dengler. 

Dieffenderfer, 

Easterly-Esterly, 

Filbert, 

Focht, 

Gruber, 

Guldin, 

Hoch-Hock-Hoy, 



Heffner, 

Hoffman, 

Henninger, 

Koehler, 

Kissinger, 

Kramer, 

Kauffman, 

Koch, 

Ludwig, 

Lauderbrun, 

Pott, 

Miessie, 

Muenchs, 

Miller, 

Neifert, 

Oberholzer, 

Parvin, 

Rhoads, 



Ritter, 

Redcamp, 

Rickert, 

Reed, 

Staudt, 

Spohn, 

Schall, 

Schwall-Schwalm, 

Schollenberger, 

Spohn, 

Strauss, 

Schaefifer, 

Shelly, 

Sponchuchen, 

Sigfried, 

Saylor, 

VanDusen, 

Witman, 

Weiser, 

Womelsdorf. 



Reber, 

(Dr. \Y. W. Egle, State Historian, includes the above in 
his enumeration of the first families of Berks Co., Historical 
Register, Jan. 1S83.) 

Most persons familiar with history know that the Palatinate, 
used in a geographical sense, existed in two territorial divisions, 
upper and lower, as early as the eleventh century. The Lower, 



BLUE BOOK OF 
Huguenots and Palatines 



Pfalz am Rhein, or Palatinate on the Rhine, was situated on both 
sides of that river and was bounded by Wurtemberg, Baden, 
Alsace, Lorraine, Treves and Hesse. 

The Upper, or Ober Pfalz, on the east, was surrounded by 
Bohemia, Bavaria and Nuremberg. The Emperor Frederic IL 
gave the Palatinate to Louis of Bavaria, who retained the right 
until 1329. In 1356 the seven electors usurped these rights 
and the territories became the inalienable feudal possessions of 
the empire. 

In 1559 Frederick III, who introduced Galvanism and gave 
his protection to the Huguenots, maintained the Reformed 
religion \vith great severity. 

His son Louis, a zealous Lutheran, tried to undo his work 
and the Palatinates were compelled to change their religion fre- 
quently to conform with the tenets of their rulers ; being 
Catholic, Calvanistic, and Lutheran successively.* 

Ludovic V. lost the electorate, 1623, and the Duke of Ba- 
varia retained the upper Palatinate. In 1648 the Rheinish Pala- 
tinate was conveyed to Frederic's son. In 1694, in the war of 
the Spanish succession, the LTpper Palatinate was again revived, 
and Bavaria again resumed its ancient rights. 

During these numerous changes the Palatinates were cruelly 
desolated by the armies that made wars of conquest upon that 
soil. In 1801 France seized all on the west bank of the Rhine. 
In 181 5 the left bank was restored to Germany. 

Germany for many years was the battlefield of Europe. The 
armies of every European nation devastated her soil and de- 
spoiled her people. The palatinate bordering on France and 
Germany, was a peculiar prey of the invading hosts. The 
ceaseless disturbances and religious persecutions, after the 
revocation of the Edict of Nantes, sent 700,000 of France's 
best citizens to Germany, Switzerland, Holland and Britain ; 



(Note 1 — Koeppen's Middle Ages.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 21 

Huguenots and Palatines 

and the remarkably cold winter of 1708-9 was responsible 
with their other ills, for the great exodus of the French and 
Germans from the Palatinate.^ 

Faith and confidence in their rulers was destroyed and when 
the Gracious Queen Anne, of England, through her ministers 
abroad began to aid the French Protestants and sent assistance 
to the Palatines, in Holland, the exodus of the latter and many 
of the former followed. 

William Penn, the silvery tongued Quaker, made two visits 
to Germany, in 1671 and 1677. Colonists were attracted to 
Pennsylvania through his agency, and other Colonial schemes 
followed.^ 

It is not the purpose of the writer to deal with the question 
of the German Immigration to the entire \\'estern Hemisphere, 
which began in 1526, nor yet to specialize all of the colonies 
that followed after 1683. 

The influx of the German population into Eastern Penn- 
sylvania, a humantide that at one time threatened to depopulate 
several provinces of Germany, and change all of this State into 
a German Colony, is, however, of especial interest. 

Queen Anne donated land along the Broad, Saluda, Con- 
garee and Wateree rivers, in South Carolina, near the present 
site of Columbia, which is still known as "Dutch Forks." 

Rev. Joshua Kockerthal, who was known as the "Joshua 
of the Palatines." 1706, at Frankfort, on the Main, wrote a 
volume extoling the wonderful resources of this land, "flowing 
with milk and honey." Kockerthal was something of a ro- 
mancist, but the influence of his book and other colonial pam- 



(Note 1 — Tindal's History of England says, "The winter was the most 
severe since 1C83-4, and cattle, sheep and birds froze to death in the 
forest. Corn was scarce and fruit trees were killed. Frosts followed, 
killing the corn and calamity and desolation prevailed.") 

(Note 2— Bancroft gives Wm. Penn the credit of this exodus of Ger- 
mans to Pennsylvania.) 



22 BLUE BOOK OF 

Huguenots and Palatines 

phlets, induced 14,000 Germans, French, Swabians, and others, 
to forsake their native land and cast their lot with the Pala- 
tines. ^ 

GERMAN IMMIGRATION 

These people came to London, after many harrowing vi- 
cissitudes, and in 1709 left England for New York, which they 
reached December 31. Kockerthal made extraordinary efforts 
to direct the tide toward Carolina. The few who came to 
Pennsylvania were filled with distrust. Many adverse reports 
came from those who had gone south. Carolina was said 
to be excellent for wine production, while Pennsylvania was 
best for the staples of life, wheat, corn and barley. Kocker- 
thal never saw Carolina, but 650 immigrants in two vessels, 
under Christopher Grafifenrid, reached the junction of the 
Neuse and Trent rivers, Carolina, early in 1710, and founded 
New Berne, named after the city in Switzerland from which 
their leaders came. 

A fearful massacre by the Tuscarora Indians followed, in 
which over 100 colonists were slain, and the remainder prom- 
ised that they would take up no more land without an agree- 
ment with the Indians. 

Twelve families and 50 others went north in April, 17 14, 
where they settled on the Rappahannock river, in Virginia, 
worked in Governor Spottswood's furnace and defended the 
frontier. To this colony of Swiss and Huguenots came twenty 
families of eighty persons, from Alsace and the Palatinate, who 
were wrecked on the coast. Among them were the ancestors of 
Gov. Keniper.2 

With the Sevier (Sarva), Roller and Bonneauvent families, 
who left Alsace, France, with thousands of others, on the 



(Note 1 — Kockerthal's volume at Astor Library, New York, is inac- 
cessible to the ordinary investigator. A synopsis, Vol. VIII, IX, Penn- 
sylvania, German Society, Magazine.) 

(Note 2 — History of South Carolina, Proprietary Government, Ed- 
ward MacCready.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 23 

Huguenots and Palatines 



revocation of the Edict of Nantes, was Valentine Sevier, one of 
eight sons of John Sevier (Sarva), who took refuge in Switzer- 
land, subsequently fleeing to London, with his wife, when the 
persecution became so severe that thousands starved to death, 
or were executed at the block, stake or gibbet. 

Coming to this country, 1727, they settled in Chester 
County, Pennsylvania, afterward Lancaster and Berks Coun- 
ties, from where they removed to \^irginia ; settling finally on 
the Watauga river, on the western side of the Alleghenies. 

In 1732 the Governor of Virginia ceded to Jacob Van Meeter 
and John Jost Heydt, of Pennsylvania, twenty-five thousand 
acres of land, in the Shenandoah Valley, on the condition that 
they locate thereon, two hundred or more families. This was 
acted upon and was the beginning of a great migration from 
Pennsylvania to that valley, in \^irgima, and which extended 
South to North Carolina, where a settlement was formed on 
the Yadkin river prior to 1750. 

John^ Sevier, Valentine^, was born in Rockingham 
County, Virginia, September 23, 1745. The family in 1769 
settled on the Watauga river, on the west side of the Alleghe- 
nies, where they, with other Virginians, built Fort Watauga 
and founded a new state. In 1774 John Sevier served as Cap- 
tain in Lord Dunsmore's war. In 1776 the Watauga settle- 
ments were annexed to North Carolina and Sevier represented 
the district in the Provincial Congress, which met at Halifax, 
Nov.-Dec. 1776, and adopted the first state constitution. In 
1777 he was a member of the State House of Commons. He 
took part in the campaign, 1780, when the Cherokees, at 
Boyd's creek, Sevier County, were defeated. They named 
the river, Holstein, in East Tennessee, after the Duke and 
House of Holstein, whose retainers the "Servis" originally 
were.^ 



(^Note 1 — History of Denmark and Norway, Frederick Suhm.) 
(Note — the small figures above the names throughout this volume 
denote the generation.) 



24 BLUE BOOK OF 

Huguenots and Palatines 

One of the most brilliant achievements in the history of the 
American Revolution was that of General John Sevier, at the 
battle of King's Mountain, Oct. 7, 1780. It was at the darkest 
hour in the history of the war with Great Britain, when the 
cause in the South seemed doomed. General John Sevier, with 
indomitable courage, threw his little army against the almost 
impregnable position of the British. In one hour the left wing 
of the army of Cornwallis was shattered, he made his surrender 
at Yorktown ; through this fierce assault his forces could not 
rally and American Independence was assured. 

John Sevier, Commonwealth Builder, founded the new 
State of Frankland (afterward Tennessee), March, 1785, named 
after Benjamin Franklin. He was arrested by North Carolina 
authorities, for a leader of an independent government. He was 
the only Governor, Frankland had. In 1789 he was a member 
of the North Carolina Senate. In 1790 the North Carolina 
government ceded its land to the United States. John Sevier 
was the first Governor of Tennessee, 1796 — 1801, and again 
181 1 — 181 5. He died at Fort Decatur, Georgia, September 
24, 1815.1-''^. 

(The name Sevier is pronounced "Sahvar", the "e" being 
sounded "ah".) 



(Note 1 — "Baird's Huguenots.") 

(Note 2 — "Huguenots in America," E. A. Stapleton.) 

(Note 3 — Eleventh Edition Encyclopedia Britannica.") 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 25 

Huguenots and Palatines 



Palatines Come to London 



tN MAY, 1709, seven thousand of the Palatines came to 
London, from Holland, taking advantage of the general 
^ naturalization law, for foreigners ; and the English nat- 
urally, were anxious to turn this tide toward populating their 
colonies in America. 

Holland, which these people had enriched with their thrift 
and industry, three months later, too, issued a proclamation, 
offering to naturalize all refugees who sought a home in that 
country and to receive them as subjects.^ 

The Elector Palatine published an order making it death 
and confiscation of goods for any one of his subjects to leave 
their native country. 

Ships were provided by the English government to bring 
them from Rotterdam and Queen Anne did all within her power 
to aid these unhappy people, who eventually became the object 
of the Colonial land speculators and English Commissioners. 

INDIANS INVITE THEM TO AMERICA 

Kapp says, that "about this time there were in London, five 
Mohawk chiefs, who had come from America to ask assistance 
of Queen Anne's government against the attack of the French 
in Canada. They visited the Palatine encampment, at Black- 
heath, and being told that it was the earnest desire of these 
people to obtain lands upon which they could live and help them- 
selves, they invited them to come to America and offered the 
Queen a gift of rich lands upon which they might settle." 



(Note 1— Luttrell Diary, 1709.) 



36 BLUE BOOK OF 

Huguenots and Palatines 

The army of Palatines in London, the middle of July, 1709, 
was variously estimated. One extravagant authority placing the 
number at 32,000. Kapp, more conservatively states, "that there 
were 14,000;" in this he is corroborated by the British Trade 
and Parliamentary Journals.^ Between two and three thousand 
Catholics, among them, who could not take the Protestant oath 
of allegiance, were returned to Germany ; and about eight hun- 
dred of them abjured their faith rather than return. 

Kockerthal, with fifty-three companions, reached New 
York, Dec. 31, 1709, founded Newburgh, on the Hudson; 
and 2,100 acres of land were allotted them, Kockerthal being 
given five hundred acres. 

THEY SAIL FOR NEW YORK 

The British Board of Trade concluded that New York could 
be used to furnish tar and pitch, and that the Palatines could be 
utilized for the manufacture of naval supplies, and, as "a barrier 
between Her Majesty's subjects and the French and their In- 
dians." Col. Robert Hunter, Governor, presented a plan for the 
establishment of three thousand Palatines, in New York. 

The date of their sailing was the day before Christmas, 
but they were detained at Portsmouth, and a month elapsed be- 
fore their embarkation; they landed at New York June 13, 
1710.2 

One, Bendysh, contracted with the Board of Trade to carry 
in ten ships, three thousand, three hundred of them. They took 
the British oath of allegiance, and each person M'as required to 
take communion in a Protestant church, in England, after being 
naturalized. 



(Note 1 — Pennsylvania Historical Society Records, Philadelphia.) 
(Note 2 — Rupp's 30,000 Immigrants, Appendix.) (State Papers, Co- 
lonial Series, N. Y.) (2d Series Penna. Archives, Vol. XVII.) 

Note — The story of the Palatines, by Sanford H. Cobb, the former 
pastor, of the High-Dutch churches, of Schoharie and the Saugerties, of 
New York, describes in detail the exodus of the Palatines, from Europe, 
and their attempted settlement, in New York, and gives an outline map of 
their land in Pennsylvania. 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 27 

Huguenots and Palatines 

The immigrants, who came in 1710, did not suffer as much 
from the cupidity of the contractors, who commissaried the 
ships, as those who came later. 

WHO THE SETTLERS WERE 

Nor were all of the immigrants in an impoverished condi- 
tion. Many of them bore with them the evidences of their thrift, 
in the Fatherland, in sums of money destined to provide for 
themselves and families for at least a year. Pastor Kockerthal 
sailed with them on his return voyage from Europe. A theolog- 
ical student, John Frederic Hager, Reformed, who was ordained, 
an Episcopal Missionary in England, for foreign parts, was 
with the expedition, and John Conrad Weiser, St., a widower 
with seven children, among whom was Conrad Weiser, Indian 
interpreter, then a boy of twelve years of age, was of the party. 
Weiser was the ancestor of Gov. J. A. Schultz, of Penna., and 
of the first Speaker of the U. S. House of Representatives, 
Frederick A. Aluhlenberg, and his brother, Gen. Peter Muhlen- 
berg. With them, also, was the great-grandfather of William 
C. Bouck, Governor of the State of New York, from 1843 to 
1845; and the ancestor of Gabriel Bouck, U. S. Senator, from 
Wisconsin, and that of General Herkheimer, of the war of the 
Revolution. With John Conrad Weiser, Sr., came Johannes 
and George Rieth, Johannes Schwall, Andreas W'alborn and 
Martin. Lorentz and John Phillip (Sevier, Sarva) Zerbe, and 
others.^ 

Provoking calms and contrary winds prolonged their voyage 
from Christmas to June. It was difficult to carry provisions for 
such a length of time and the greatest economy in quantity of 
food was practiced. Ship fevers ensued from privation and the 
confinement during storms ; and Governor Hunter reported, 
"four hundred and seventy as having died on shipboard and 
after their removal to land. Some of the vessels brought every 



(Note 1 — Kockerthal's Palatine Immigration to New York, Vol. 1, pp. 
615-618.) 



28 



BLUE BOOK OF 
Huguenots and Palatines 



passenger safe into harbor." Diseases on shipboard were com- 
mon in the early days. The vessel Wm. Penn arrived on, in 
1682, was infected with smallpox. The mortality in such cases 
was most severe among the children. 




SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 29 

Huguenots and Palatines 



Settle in Province of New York 



E may not all see sermons in stones, nor books in running 
brooks, but the story of these German, French and 




Swiss immigrants is one of the most tragic in the early 
history of America. 

Political oppression and religious persecution drove them 
from their native land, to the province of New York, where they 
hoped, as individuals, through industry, to re-establish their 
homes and enjoy prosperity and happiness with their families, 
with liberty of conscience and in peace. 

The Governor of the Province, Robert Hunter, and Robert 
Livingstone, a wealthy land proprietor, connived to make a profit 
out of these people, and a condition of things worse than their 
European bondage ensued, amounting almost to serfdom. 

An instrument, prepared and revised by Attorney General 
Montague, was signed by the head of each family, in which the 
promise was made, that all monies advanced by Queen Anne, 
for their transportation, settlement and maintenance, in her 
Majesty's Province, should be restored to the British Govern- 
ment. To this end they were at once set to work, under military 
intimidation, at felling trees, burning tar, and raising hemp for 
the use of the British navy. The Covenant was an ironclad one, 
and the people soon realized that they had made a grievous mis- 
take in signing it. The covenant is among the documents per- 
taining to the Colonial History of New York.^ 

In one year Governor Hunter calculated that the immigrants 
would be self-sustaining and able to repay Her Majesty's debt, 
but the conditions were against them. 



(Note 1— Vol. IV, 121, S. Q. Q. Astor Library.) 



30 BLUE BOOK OF 

Huguenots and Palatines 



In the x\utunin of 1710 they were taken up the Hudson to 
Livingstone Manor, where thirteen thousand, one hundred and 
thirty-three acres, on both sides of the river, were utihzed to 
carry out Hunter's plans. Each family was provided with a 
lot forty feet front and fifty feet deep ; and the large pine forests 
were to provide the tar for all Europe. 

EARLY PATRIOTS IN QUEEN ANNE'S WAR 

The man who profited by this scheme was Robert Living- 
stone, whom Governor Hunter made terms with, selling the labor 
of the immigrants to him, at which the people demurred. They 
objected to being treated as a community, but wished to be dealt 
with as law-abiding individuals. 

The wars which waged in France and England, during this 
century, soon extended to their domains, in America. The 
French, who were established in Canada, were desirous of dis- 
lodging the English on the south and they began to incite the 
Indians against them. The war of the Spanish succession began 
in Europe, 1702, and soon extended to America, where it was 
known as Queen Anne's War. In 17 10 an expedition from 
Boston drove the French out of Acadie and annexed it to the 
British crown, under the name of Nova Scotia. In 171 1 efiforts 
were made to conquer Canada but were unsuccessful. The peace 
of Utrecht closed the war, April 11, 1713. 

Having taken the oath of allegiance, the Palatines furnished 
three hundred men, and four companies, in the expedition in 171 1 
against Montreal, under General Nichols, and the appeal for the 
defence of Albany, against the French. This was one year after 
their arrival in their adopted country. 

These companies, whose rosters are incomplete, were only 
from the villages on the east side of the Hudson. The three vil- 
lages, on the west side, also furnished their quota. Six hundred 
was the number of troops from New York and the Palatines 
furnished three hundred of these. They were distributed in the 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 31 

Huguenots and Palatines 

regiments of Colonels Schuyler and Ingoldsby and formed a large 
part of the army, being used as a wall of defence between the 
British and the French and their Indian allies. 

On their return the Governor removed their arms from 
them, under the pretence that they might use them against the 
Province.^ 

SOLDIERS IN WAR OF 1711 

State of New York. Report of the State Historian. 1896. 
Colonial Series. Volume i. (Title Page — Second Annual Report 
of the State Historian of the State of New York. Transmitted 
to the Legislature, February 22, 1897.) Page 442, Appendix 
"H." 

July 16 (1711). List of Palatine Volunteers in Annsberg, 
Haysburg and Queensbury Expedition against Canada. 

ANNSBERG 

Hartman W'indecker, apt. Jacob Ess, 

Jno. M. Dill, Ferd'o Mentegen, 

Peter Spies, Conrad Kuhn, 

Herman Bitzer, Valtin Kuhn, 

Johan \\m. Kammer, Henrich Winter, 

Johannes Bonroth, Jno. Geo. Riffenberg, 

Johannes Bernhard, Jno. Wm. Linck, 

Sebastian Fischer, Henrich Fehlings, 

Nicolaus Kayd, Jacob Dings, 

Henrick Klein, Johannes Schue, 

Hen. Bal't Stuber, Jno. Wm. Schnieder, 

Casper Ranch, Jacob Bast, 

Hans Hen. Zeller, Johannes Blast, 

Johannes Zeller, Jno. Mart. Netzbach, 

Samuel Kuhn, Johannis W'eis, 

Gerhard Schafifer, Jno. Ad'n Walborn, 

Ulrich Bruckhart, Jno. Hen. Orendorff, 



(Note 1— Penna. German Society, Vol. VII-IX, pp. 117-118.) 



32 BLUE BOOK OF 

Huguenots and Palatines 

Dan'l Busch, Jno. Phill. ZERBE, 

Jno. Hen. Conradt, Jno Phill. Theis, 

Hen. Ballinger, Martin ZERBE, 

Johan Schneider, Nicolaus Ruhl, 

Marcus Bellinger, Adam C. Schmidt, 

Phill. Schaffer, Con'd Maisinger, 

Johan Kradt, Tho. Ruffinger. 

Christ Sittenich, Joh. Jost Retry, 

Jno. Hen. Schmidt, Ludw. Schmit, 

250 men, women and children in village. 

("True copy from original," Hen. Mayer.) 

REPORT OF STATE HISTORIAN 

State of New York, Report of the State Historian 1896 — 
Colonial Series, Vol. I, 974.7 — No. 4, 811. 

Article HI. "All of the muster rolls of the colony have 
been compiled from 1664 to 1760. The work on the Colonial 
records was suspended owing to lack of funds for the transla- 
tion." 

These Dutch records are extremely valuable, historically, 
but a detailed history of the times in which they were written, 
can never be obtained until these documents are translated ; 
when, perhaps, the history of the six villages, on both sides of 
the Hudson, near Albany, will be revealed in its entirety. 

HAYSBURG 

John Christopher Fucks, Melch Folz, 

John Wm. Dales, John Segendorf, 

John Wm. Schaff, Phillip Laux, 

Christian Bauch, Abraham Langen, 

Peter Hayd, Jno. Jacob Schutz, 

Hen'r Hammer, Jno. Wm. Hambuch, 

Mich. Ittich, Niclaus Laux, 

Johan. Keyser, Niclaus Gottel, 

Jacob Cup, Paulus Reitchoff. 
Paulus Dientzer, 243 women and children in village. 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 
Husfuenots and Palatines 



33 



QUEENSBURY 



Johan Con'd Wiser, Capt,, 
Christian Haber, 
Andreas Bergman, 
Johannes Feeg, 
Mattheus Kuntz, 
Mattheus Reinbolt, 
Jno. Peter Dopff, 
Jno. Jacob Reisch, 
Carl Nehr, 
Heinrich Jung, 
Hen. Hofifman, 
Werner Deichert, 
Geo. Mtiller, 
Fred. BelHnger, 
Hen. W^iderwachs, 
George Mathias, 
Christ'o. Hagedorn, 
Wm. Nelles, 
Johannes Kistler, 
George Dachstader, 



Johannes Laysdorf, 
Frantz Fink, 
Andreas Schurtz, 
Peter Hagedorn, 
Niclaus Weber, 
VVm. George, Lieut., 
Fred. Schaft'er, 
Antho. Schaid. 
Jno. Pet. Sein, 
Jno. Jack. Munsinger, 
Johan Leyer, 
Jacob Kuhn, 
Hen'r. Matthews, 
Niclaus Eckard, 
Martin Dillenback, 
Niclaus Teller, 
Jacob W^eber, 
Jacob Schnell, 
Geo. Breigel, 
John Schaeffer. 



356 men, women and children in village. 
("True copy from original," Hen. Mayer.) 



HUNTERSTOWN 



July 16, 171 1. 

Jno. Peter Kneskern, Capt. 
David Huppert, 
Condad Schawerman, 
Henrich Sex, 
Frederich Bell, 
Jacob Kobell, 
Jacob Warne, 
Johannes Schulteis, 



Reinhard Schaffer 
Johannes Roschman, 
Carl Uhl, 
Baltz Anspach, 
Conrad Keller, 
Jno. George Schmidt, 
Con'd. Goldman, 
Geo. Bender, 



34 BLUE BOOK OF 

Huguenots and Palatines 

Jno. Hen. Uhl, Veil. Musig, 

Theo. Schumaker, Geo. Kerchiner, 

Peter Schmidt, Christ Hills, 

Johan SCHWALB, Rudol. Stahl. 

Geo. Lud. Koch, 

336 men, women and children in village. 

The majority of those who came to the Tulpehocken, 
Chester County, Pennsylvania, 1723, with the thirty-three 
original families, were from Annsberg, afterward from 
Schoharie, N. Y., but several were from the last named vil- 
lages. 

The companies were formed of volunteers ; and shows 
that the Palatines were imbued with a patriotic spirit, enlisting 
to defend the Province of New York, only one year after they 
entered the country. 

Governor Hunter was impoverished and in debt; and in 
the winter of 171 2 informed the people that they must sustain 
themselves. The contract was broken and starvation was im- 
minent if they remained. True to their first intention and 
broken ideals, they recalled the five Indian chiefs, in London, 
who had presented Queen Anne with a tract of land for their 
use, and the elder Weiser went to Schoharie, with others, to 
treat with the Indians. They paid the equivalent of three 
hundred dollars, to the Indians for their lands, and in less than 
two weeks fifty families moved to Schoharie, building fifteen 
miles of roadway through the forests. The Governor threat- 
ened them that unless they returned they would be treated as 
rebels. March, 171 3, they were joined by a number of their 
kindred, who made their way through drifts of snow. The 
Indians gave them potatoes and herbs, and provided them 
with seed. 

THEIR LANDS RESOLD 

It was a beautiful country, and they had twenty thousand 
acres under tillage and made a perfect Acadia of it. There 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 35 
Huguenots and Palatines 

were about seven hundred of them, and they settled in seven 
villages, named after the delegates, who treated with the 
Indians and led the colony: Kneskerndorf— Gerlachsdorf— 
Fuchsendorf — Schmitsdorf— Weiserdorf— Hartsmansdorf— 
and Ober-Weiserdorf. 

The most hazardous labor, privation and hardship, was 
endured ; but these settlements were made to blossom like the 
rose, with well cultivated fields, vine-clad hills, meadows green 
with verdure and gardens of beauty. They had no agricultural 
implements of any kind, save such as were used by the Indians. 

They were zealously watched by Government spies, and 
conspirators soon dispossessed them of their lands, on the 
plea that they had no title to them, Governor Hunter selling 
them to seven rich merchants of Albany and New York. 

John Conrad Weiser sent his son Conrad to live with the 
Indians, that he might learn the Mohawk language, and the 
most friendly relations were maintained between the exiles 
and the red men. The most bitter hatred, however, existed 
between the Holland Dutch and the new settlers.^ 



(Note 1— Hallische Nachrichten.) 




36 BLUE BOOK OF 

Penna. Pioneers of 1723 



The Thirty-three Families 



I HE Palatines were ignorant in the law, and claimed 
they had bought their lands from the Indians, 
or they had been given them by the red men. 
When the purchasers attempted to settle on them 
they Avere resisted by the Palatines. John Conrad 
Weiser, with two others, left secretly for England, 
1 718, to lay the matter before the Crown and the English 
Board of Trade. They were captured by pirates in Delaware 
Bay, robbed and cruelly beaten, and only reached England 
after a long delay. Walrath, one of the three commissioners, 
died and they were imprisoned for debt before they could 
attempt to secure a redress. Governor Hunter was recalled 
in 1720 and his defense was used in the Board of Trade against 
the confirmation of the titles and other land was offered the 
people. Some purchased their homes outright, and others re- 
moved to various places.^ 

What is more pitiful than this third exodus of these 
Germans, French and Swiss, from their homes and lands in 
the Schoharie, from which they had again been defrauded? 
Sir William Keith, Governor of the colony of Pennsylvania, 
was in Albany at the time the immigrants were dispossessed of 
their lands and invited them to settle in his state. It was 
afterward insinuated of him, that "he desired to form a colony 
in Pennsylvania and Ohio and head it," and that, "he wished 
to populate Pennsylvania at the expense of New York." 

Guided by friendly Indians, through the unbroken forests, 
a little band of thirty-three families, in 1723, set out for a new 



(Note 1 — Kapp's Geschichte der Deutschen im Staat N. Y.) 



"Prtr-^^rH 




'=»i£3?«" 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 37 

Penna. Pioneers of 1723 

Eldorado, in the backwoods of Pennsylvania, their destination 
being the "Tulpewihaki," the "land of the Turtle's song." 
With heroic faith and pathetic determination, they performed 
an act of endurance and fortitude that has no parallel in the 
history of the New England States, and forms one of the most 
romantic and tragic epochs in the colonial events in the early 
history of the United States. 

Guided by the Indians, they traveled from the Schoharie 
to the headwaters of the Susquehanna, cutting a road through 
the unimpenetrable forests. Rafts and boats were built for the 
transportation of their wives, children and household goods, 
while their cattle were driven overland, along the banks of 
the rivers, by the men who were not required to propel the 
boats. Down the Chenango river to where it unites with the 
east branch of the Susquehanna, past the future sites of 
Binghampton, Athens and Towanda, they journeyed.^ 

Bent upon reaching a place they could call home, even 
their motto, "Ohne hast, Ohne rast" (without haste, without 
rest") could only conjure up a picture of incessant toil and 
hardships before the desired haven was attained. The yellow 
waters of the west branch of the Susquehanna joined them 
below Danville, friendly Indians assisted them, doubtless on 
their way, at Wilkesbarre and at Sunbury, where Fort Sha- 
mokin was afterward maintained against the same tribes. The 
beauties of the Blue Juniata, with its weird Indian tragedies 
and romances, did not tempt them to stop ; but their motto 
like the banner of strange device, "Upidee" (Longfellow), 
bore them on, till the site of liarrisburg was left in the dis- 
tance ; and they reached a point, then in Chester County, near 
Middletown^,Dauphin County, where the Swatara creek unites 
with the Susquehanna, where they left that broad stream and 



(Note 1 — Rupp gives it as the Spring of 1723.) 

(Note 2 — The settlement of Womelsdorf was first called Middletown. 
Some historians are of the opinion that the contingent of thirty-three 
families came to that point before separating.) 



38 BLUE BOOK OF 

Penna. Pioneers of 1723 

settled all along the banks of the Tulpehocken River, between 
the South and the Blue Mountain, in southeastern Pennsylva- 
nia, and on its tributary creeks. Mill, Plum, Northkill and 
Cacoosing.i 

A tradition says that "twelve horses belonging to the im- 
migrants, not liking the situation in Berks County, returned 
to Schoharie, New York, the journey occupying almost a 
year."2 

Another story handed down, says that "when the immi- 
grants reached the spot where Stouchsburg, Marion Township, 
now stands, they halted, camped and removed their clothing, 
bathing in the Tulpehocken river, which was covered with 
blood from the injuries they received enroute. The tale con- 
tinuing narrates that the hardiest of the newcomers selected 
the heavy bottoms, along the streams, where the timber 
growth was the thickest, and the laziest and infirm took to 
the hillsides, which were but sparsely covered.^ 

The township of Tulpehocken was a recognized dis- 
trict before 1723. It was then a part of Chester County and 
extended from the Blue, or Kittatinny mountains, on the 
north, to Reading on the south, where the Tulpehocken river 
unites with the Schuylkill ; and from the latter river, on the 
east, to an imaginary boundary line included in Lancaster 
County, when it was erected, 1729. 

SETTLERS PETITION GOVERNOR 

The first mention of the name Tulpehocken was in 1707, 
when a French Indian trader, one Nicole, was arrested by 
order of the Governor, mounted upon a horse, his legs tied 



(Note 1 — The Tulpehocken river and its branches cover an area of 75 
miles, it being the longest river in Berks County.) 

(Note 2 — Montgomery's History of Berks County.) 

(Note 3 — Mrs. Elizabeth Deupple Dysinger, born 17G0, died 1857, aged 
97 years, who lived in the family of John Zerbe, the second miller, nearly 
all her lifetime, had a great fund of reminiscential folk-lore at her com- 
mand. The above being one of her stories.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 39 

Penna. Pioneers of 1723 

under its belly, and in this fashion he was taken from a 
settlement, on the Susquehanna, to Philadelphia, by way of 
Tulpehocken and Manatawny, for trial at court.^ 

When Lancaster County was erected, 1729, the Indians 
still claimed the territory of the Tulpehocken. They had 
released their rights to the Penns, who purchased a district 
that was bounded by the South Mountain, but the settlers 
were aggressive and settled beyond the limits. In 1723 the 
thirty-three families from the Schoharie made a settlement on 
Tulpehocken creek, and in 1728 were followed by fifty families 
more. The Indians knew they were trespassers, but treated 
the first delegation with great kindness, and made no com- 
plaint. With the arrival of the second colony, June 5, 1728, 
the Indians laid a complaint before the Provincial Council, at 
Philadelphia. Sassoonan, with other Indians, conferred with 
the Lieutenant Governor and the Executive Council regarding 
the limits of the lands released, 1718, and it was admitted that 
the Tulpehocken settlers were trespassers. 

Indian Commissioner Logan said, that "this settlement 
had been effected without the consent of the commissioners." 
He then presented the following petition, from the Palatines, 
which he read to a vast assemblage which filled the executive 
chamber in Philadelphia : 

"To His Excellency, Lieut. Governor, and his Executive 
Council, of the Province of Pennsylvania : 

"The petition of us, the subscribers, being thirty-three 
families in number, at present inhabiting Tulpahaca creek — 
humbly showeth — 

"That, your petitioners, being natives of Germany, about 
15 years ago, were by the great goodness of Queen Anne, 



(Note 1— Colonial Records, Vol. 2, p. 405.) 



40 BLUE BOOK OF 

Penna. Pioneers of 1723 

relieved from the hardships, which they then suffered in 
Europe, and were transported into the colony of New York, 
where they settled. But their families increasing, and being in 
that government, confined to the scanty allowance of ten acres 
of land to each family, whereon they could not well subsist, 
your petitioners, being informed of the kind reception which 
their countrymen usually met with, in the Province of Penn- 
sylvania, and hoping they might, with what substance they 
had, acquire larger settlements in that Province, did last year, 
in the Spring of 1723, leave their settlements, in New York 
government, and came with their families into this Province ; 
where, upon their arrival, they applied themselves to His Ex- 
cellency, the Governor, who of his great goodness, permitted 
them to inhabit, upon Tulpahaca creek, being the farthest 
inhabited part of the Province northwest from Philadelphia ; 
on condition that they should make full satisfaction to the 
proprietor, or his agents, for such lands as should be allotted 
to them when they were ready to receive the same. And now 
your petitioners, understanding that some gentlemen, agents 
of the proprietors, have ample powers to dispose of lands in 
this Province, and we, your petitioners, being willing and 
ready to purchase, do humbly beseech your Excellency and 
Council, to recommend us to the favorable usage of the pro- 
prietor's agent, that upon paying the usual prices for lands 
at such a distance from Philadelphia, we may have sufficient 
rights and titles made to us for such lands as we shall have 
occasion to buy, that our children may have some settlement 
to depend on hereafter; and that by your authority we may 
be freed from the demands of the Indians, of that part of the 
country, who pretend a right thereto. And we humbly beg 
leave to inform your Excellency and Council, that there are 
fifty families more, who, if they may be admitted upon the 
same conditions, are desirous to come and settle with us. 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 41 

Penna. Pioneers of 1723 

We hope for your favorable answer to this, our humble re- 
quest ; and as in duty bound, shall ever pray, etc. 

Johannes Yans, Hamelar Ritt, 

Peter Ritt, Antonis Sharb, 

Conrad Schitz, Johan Peter Pacht, 

Paltus Unsf, Jocham Michael Chiricht 

Sebastian Pisas, Josap Sab, 

Andrew Falborn, Godfreyt Filler, 

Jorge Ritt, Johannes Claes Shaver, 
Toritine Serbo, (Lorenz Zerbe.)^-^ 

The names of the signers were in German script. The 
above are spelled as in the original. 

The Indians were requested to wait, and were promised 
that the matter would be settled satisfactorily. Immigration 
did not stop and the Germans continued to fill the valley. 

Wm. Penn being dead, a division of his Province was 
demanded by his heirs. The proprietaries were pushed for 
money at this time, but their letters, November 25, 1727 and 
1728, show that they still desired conciliation and peace with 
the Indians rather than warfare ; and to this end James 
Logan, Indian agent, lent his best endeavors. John Penn 
promised to come over in 1729, but it was not until 1732, 
when Thomas Penn came, that the question was settled. 
September 7, 1732, a deed was obtained from the Indians, 
covering the entire "Ganshowehanna"* region for fifty pounds 
in money and various goods and trinkets. The Germans were 
enabled to gain valid titles to their land through purchase and 
the Indians retired over the Blue Mountains to the region 
of Northumberland, Berks, now Schuylkill County, and North- 



(Note 1— Zerbe History, Part 2.) 

(Note 2— Colonial Records of Pennsylvania, Vol. VIII, pp. 310-323.) 
(Note 3 — Penna. German Society, Vol. IX, page 366.) 
(Note 4 — Ganshowehanna was the name given the Schuylkill river by 
the Indians and means falling stream.) 



42 BLUE BOOK OF 

Penna. Pioneers of 1723 

ampton counties, from which they again were dispossessed by 
the whites, 1749. 

There is no doubt that Governor Keith had transcended 
his authority in inviting the immigrants to settle in Pennsyl- 
vania. The land in Lancaster County, erected 1729, belong- 
ed to the Indians as far as Oley, the first Indian purchase 
being made in 1718. The land commissioners, of whom 
James Logan was chief, September 7, 1732, bought other 
land from the Indians and settlers took their grants from 
Thomas Penn through his agents, the above, and Casper 
Wister.i The grant included all the land drained by the 
Schuylkill and its tributaries, lying between the Blue Moun- 
tains and the Blue Ridge, Pennsylvania.- 

FIRST CHURCH BUILT 

The segregation of the immigrants was complete. In 
1725, a meeting w^as held by them in the block-house, on the 
Millbach, to discuss the question of building a meeting house, 
wherein, also, instruction might be imparted to their chil- 
dren. John Page, the proprietor of Plumpton Manor, had 
set aside for church, cemetery and school purposes, seven 
acres of land, to which Adam, Christopher and John Leon- 
ard Rieth donated an additional seven acres, and a log church 
was built. 

The work was done by the men, women and children, 
the smallest of the latter being housed in the block-house, 
which was fortified and where their ammunition and provis- 
ions were stored during the erection.^ The church stood 
on an eminence, above the Tulpehocken river and Mill Creek 
and later was known as the Rieth's, or Zion's Church. 



(Note 1 — The Penn's agent, Casper Wister, appended to his. signature 
in almost every instance, his trade, "Brass Button Maker.") 

(Note 2— Penna. Archives, Vol. 1, pp. 344-347.) 

(Note 3 — The block house stood on land now owned by Wm. Zeller, 
near Newmanstown, Berks County.) 




RIETH'S CHURCH, BUILT 1727, LOCATED ON THE TULPEHOCKEN, 
NEAR PRESENT SITE OF STOUCHSBURG, PA. 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 43 

Penna. Pioneers of 1723 

The Indians were hostile and wily, and a watch was 
maintained at all times. The building was made of logs, with 
rude mortar to fill the crevices. The men hewed the trees 
and split logs, the women carried water and helped fill the 
chinks. 

The pulpit was a huge round block, the base of a tree, 
the seats were of logs split, with the smooth or inner sides 
uppermost. A vault was built underneath the earthen floor 
to stock the ammunition ; and the pastor had his old flint lock 
rifle in front of him as he preached. In winter a large wood 
fire was kept outside, at which the people warmed themselves 
before entering. The church was five months in building and 
was completed about 1727.1 The log church stood in the 
corner of the cemetery until about ten years ago, when it was 
burned down. The present Zion's Church, on the outskirts 
of Stouchsburg, was built of stone from the abutments of the 
Union Canal which ran to that point. 

The Swedes, who came to this part of Chester County, 
in 1701, erected a church, 1716, in Amity Township. Prior 
to this time they worshipped at the Old Swedes' Church, 
Swanson and Christian Streets, Philadelphia. 

PETITION FOR ROADS 

The Huguenots, who came to Oley, 1712, later attended 
religious services at the Trappe. 

The Friends Meeting House, situated in the Monocacy 
Valley, on the Amity line, was not built until 1736. The 
meeting house referred to in the accompanying petition was 
a small building adjoining George Boone's mill, built 1725. 
The sect also met for worship in each other's homes. 



(Note 1 — Christopher Sauers' newspaper, October 16, 1747, says, "The 
Reformed and Lutheran people worshipped here," and that it was the "first 
church in Berks County," meaning, doubtless, first Lutheran and Reformed.) 



44 BLUE BOOK OF 

Penna, Pioneers of 1723 

The petition for the building of a road is published else- 
where in this volume, (see index) and is a facsimile of the 
original, with a certificate attesting its correctness and is self 
explanatory. 

Another petition for a road from Oley, recorded a little 
later than the above, was also made.^ It asks for a road from 
the Blue Mountains, where the Shamokin road intersects the 
same to the great road, leading to Philadelphia ; and the road 
from the Tulpehocken. The Oley road was the road to 
Philadelphia for many years until changed by a road from 
the point, near Black Bear Inn, to Douglassville.-' 

THE TULPEHOCKEN CONFUSION 

The potentiality of the early history of the German, 
Svv^iss and Huguenot settlers, in Eastern Pennsylvania, 
would not be complete without some reference to the 
"Tulpehocken Confusion." When the vicarious conditions 
that beset the immigrants in every direction from the land 
of their birth, up to that time, are reflected upon, the bitter 
aggression and recrimination that arose from their religious 
difficulties must be considered with at least a moiety of for- 
bearance. Their strife was largely the result of the lack of 
sociological conditions, to which their poverty and hardships 
contributed ; their religion was their all and they fought for 
it with the same zest they bestowed on other pursuits, its 
utilitarianism, as a factor in their lives, being its highest 
standard. 

Schmauck's history of the early Lutheran churches in 
eastern Pennsylvania, gives an interesting and voluminous 



(Note 1 — The original draft is to be found in Miscellaneous Papers, 
1724-1742, p. 83, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Historical Society, Phila- 
delphia.) 

(Note 2 — Fort Augusta, Shamokin, now Sunbury, was erected in 1756, 
and the road to it, Shamokin road, was afterward the Centre Turnpike, 
running through Pottsville.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 45 

Penna. Pioneers of 1723 

account of the difficulties in Zion's, or Rieth's church, in 
detail. An original German manuscript in the Moravian 
Archives, of the old Moravian church, Bethlehem, Pa., en- 
titled "Church Book of the Evangelical Lutheran Gemeine, 
in Tulpehocken, 1733-1747," gives a conservative history of 
the events involved between these dates. It was written by 
the early missionaries of that church and fell into posses- 
sion of the Moravians during their occupancy. This book 
is the early history, so frequently referred to, as "the lost 
records of Rieth's church." There are, however, no records, 
of the five years that Haenckle and Van Duren ministered 
to these people, and much that occurred from the building 
of the church, in 1727, to 1733, is lost, and will remain so, 
unless some Bibliographer, still at work on the original man- 
uscripts, discovers them.^ 

'Tn the year 1723, Tulpehocken was first settled by Luth- 
erans from Schoharie, (Albany Co., N. Y.) Bernhard Van 
Duren was their reader and acted as their pastor, in New 
York. He promised to live among them, but never came. 
He visited them about once a year, to give them communion 
and baptize their children. Phillip Mueller, Reformed, came 
also twice a year. There came one, Haenckle, from Falckner's 
Schwamm (Swamp), who advised us to build a church, 
which was done 1727." 

John Bernard Van Duren was a German tailor, accord- 
ing to the Lutheran historians, a colporteur before Ziegen- 
hagen, in London, who claimed to be a minister and officiated 
as such, in Schoharie, but created disturbance there, settling 
afterward in Raritan, N. J. 



(Note 1 — The author had access to this manuscript in the private 
library of the archivist, at Bethlehem, and appends it in part.) 



46 BLUE BOOK OF 

Penna. Pioneers of 1723 

Gerhard Haenckle came to Falckner's Swamp, 1717. He 
was an itinerant Lutheran and school teacher.^ 

"Caspar Stoever went about preaching and we had ser- 
mons read by 'Vorlesen'. There were petitions sent by the 
people to London to Court-preacher Ziegenhagen, for preach- 
ers, but no pastor was sent." 

"In 1733, a call with the seal and signature of each per- 
son was sent to Germany for a pastor, which was accepted. 
We built him a house, but almost a year afterward word came 
that he had died at sea. Then we extended a call to Caspar 
Leutbecker. He took the house built for the minister and 
then our troubles began." 

"In 1734 a man brought him a child to baptize and he 
began to question him when he discovered the man was drunk, 
and he turned him away. The man was not repentant and 
took the child to Caspar Stoever, at Connestoga, who baptized 
it, without informing Leutbecker, and a strife and division 
in the church occurred. "^ 

It was said that "Stoever had been unlawfully or- 
dained," and it now became the object of the rival faction 
to gain and keep possession of the church. "A lock was 
placed on the gate, but the other party cut another entrance 
to the cemetery, in which the church stood. Caspar Leut- 
becker had sole authority to preach and teach in the church, 
and Stoever was enjoined to keep the peace." 

"Magistrate Wm. Webb, of Kenneth Square, Chester 
County, attempted to arbitrate the matter and promote 
peace. He seated himself between Leutbecker and Stoever, 
in the church ; Leutbecker stated his grievance in a few 
words, when Stoever gave him the lie direct and a bitter 
altercation ensued. Mr. Webb appointed Leonard and Mich- 



(Note 1 — Schmauck's History. Grabner's Geschichte Lutherischen 
Kirche, pp. 100-112.) 

(Note 2 — John Caspar Stoever's baptismal records contain the names 

of three children, baptized by him, 1727, in this church.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 47 
Penna. Pioneers of 1723 ^ 

ael Rieth custodians of the church and ordered a lock and 
key but the opposing faction gained entrance through a 
woman crawling in through the foundation and opening a 
window A bitter warfare followed, sticks loaded with pow- 
der were placed in the stove and stones were hurled through 
the roof and windows of Leutbecker's home. ^^ His health 
failed under these persecutions and he died 1738-" 

(Dr. I^Iann, in his life of Rev. Melchoir Muhlenberg, says, 
"Leutbecker was a tailor, a pious man." He is buried at Span- 
genberg.) 

-The committee agreed that Stoever should preach one 
Sunday in each month ; this was against the decision of 'Squire 
Webb' that trouble would ensue and who had ordered him 
away.' Stoever did so, and then asked for another^ Sunday, 
and finally the original possessors were crowded out." 

"\bout this time Count Zinzendorf began a noble work 
in christianizing the Indians. He had been assured ^ by 
Court-preacher Ziegenhagen, in London in 1737. that no 
Pastor would be sent to Pennsylvania, that the Germans were 
too poor to pay for one," and he conceived the idea that he 
had a mission to perform to draw together all Germans, m one 
undenominational body, but really to propagate Moravianism. 
For this purpose he laid aside his title and began to gather 
together such Germans as were not satisfied with the minis- 
trations of the Lutherans, and thus occurred what was termed 
the "Tulpehocken Confusion," which began July 18, 1742.^ 

There were about one hundred thousand Germans in 
Pennsylvania in 1741- The Reformed denomination existed 
under similar conditions to that of the Lutheran. No well 
developed denominational organization could claim rights 
based on priority of occupancy. There were not a dozen reg- 

' (Note l^he Confusion at Tulpehocken, Transactions of the Mora- 
vian Historical Society, Vol. 4, p. 238.) 



48 BLUE BOOK OF 

Penna. Pioneers of 1723 

ularly ordained ministers in the state laboring with these 
people, and the conditions were appalling. 

"After Leutbecker died, a poor shoemaker from Germany 
acted as school teacher for several years for the people, then 
came Gottlob Buttner, who preached for them, but the troubles 
caused his resignation. He was recalled, the congregation 
having purchased the ground and the church, twenty-two 
signing the call making them a free church. May 30, 1742. 
Johannes^ Zerbe, Peter Teck, 

Leonart, Michael, Johannes, Johannes Fincher, 

and Caspar Rieth, Peter Nicklass, 

Frederic Gerhart, Michael Schoeffer, 

Jorg Lesch, Hermanns Walborn, 

Hannes Lautermilch, ' and others. 

The deed between John Page, of London, and his agents 
gave them the land through the original patent of the tract, 
for the rent of one red rose, to be paid June 23, every year, 
forever. 

This pretty custom, observed annually in Manheim, Lan- 
caster County, has never been followed in Zion's or Rieth's 
Church. 

They were released for 4 lbs. 17 S. lawful money. ^ '^ 

To this deed was affixed the sign and seal, August 16, 
1742, of Conrad Weiser, J. P., as "an impartial spectator dur- 
ing the time of the Tulpehocken confusion." 




^m^ 



Caspar Stoever, Lutheran, was accused of trying to turn 
Zion's Church over to the Moravians. Also, that when he 



(Note 2— Deed appears in full, in Transactions of the Moravians, Vol. 
4, p. 255.) 

(Note 3— Zerbe History, Part 2.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 49 

Penna. Pioneers of 1723 



went to England, it wa^ said, that he collected money for the 
church and bought a plantation in Virginia for himself, stock- 
ing it with negroes for his own use. Stoever, in common with 
other great men, 'was not without his traducers. He per- 
formed a noble part in the early civilization of the State, but 
had his weaknesses ; like John Conrad Weiser, Sr., of whom 
it was said that, "when he went to England, to plead the cause 
of the Palatines before Queen Anne's Court, he encouraged the 
taking away of their lands that he might obtain a grant of 
land and found a colony of his own, in Ohio." It was for this 
reason, it was insinuated, he did not come to Pennsylvania 
until he came to die in 1746. His plan did not succeed and the 
Germans had lost confidence in his leadership. 

"With Gottlob Buttner was John Phillip Meurer, a 
teacher. He came as a Moravian evangelist to Pennsylvania 
in 1740. He was invited by the Free Congregation, of the Tul- 
pehocken to officiate for them, and Zion's or Rieth's church 
became Moravian. The Stoever party retired and built the 
"Christ Church," west of Stouchsburg, May, 1743- Dr. 
Schantz's "Sesqui Centennial Discourse" gives the 165 signers, 
copied from the church record. 

(Among them occurs the names of George Peter, Jacob 
and John Zerbe, sons of Mardin Zerbe (Zarva).i 

Rev. Tobias Wagner also gave a list of the members, now 
issued in pamphlet form. 

Meurer was an itinerant and could not remain more 
than a few months. Peter Bohler succeeded him. Public dis- 
putations on the doctrine of sanctification with Pastor Tobias 
Wagner, of Christ Lutheran Church, were held and personal 
animosity and religious disputes governed the situation alter- 
nately. The first regular Moravian Church in the rural dis- 
tricts was formed April 9, 1745. The signers were John 
Zerbe, the miller, and wife Elizabeth ; the Fischers, father and 

(Note 1— Zerbe History Part 2.) 



50 BLUE BOOK OF 

Penna. Pioneers of 1723 

son, who were of the original thirty-three families ; the Con- 
rads, and the IMiienchs and Michael Rieth and wife, all of 
Heidelberg Township. 

With the exception of the Conrads and Muenchs, the oth- 
ers were of the Zion's or Rieth's church. This church was 
known as the Heidelberg Moravian church and was disbanded 
January, 1760. (Bishop Spangenberg, Moravian, who organ- 
ized the church, frequently preached at Jonathan Herbein's 
home and at Abraham Bertolettes', in Oley^. 

Other technical difficulties followed with the arrival of 
Pastor Muhlenberg, son-in-law of Justice Conrad Weiser, who 
no longer assumed the role of an impartial arbitrator but inter- 
fered ; and was guilty of making a forcible entry into a school 
house and threatening to take the church from the Moravians 
if it was not at once surrendered. 

January 21-24, 1748, ^nd again June 2, 1748, the Moravian 
Synod was requested to send a suitable person to take charge 
and replied, that "none could be found ;" and also declined to 
defend its property, "since it is contrary to the principles of 
the Moravian church to have recourse to the law." The mem- 
bers that remained continued with the Heidelberg church 
and Moravian activity ended in the Tulpehocken and the 
"Confusion" was over.2' 

The Moravians retired from activity in Berks County 1760. 

PROVINCE OF PENNSYLVANIA 

The Province of Pennsylvania was chartered by Charles 
the Second, King of England, in the thirty-third year of 
his reign, March 4, 1682, to William Penn, son of Sir William 
Penn, Admiral. To enable him to extend the English Empire, 
and to reward the son for the services of his distinguished 



(Note 1 — Ancestors of Dr. J. H. Herbein, of Pottsville, and the Ber- 
tolet family, of Schuylkill Co.) 

(Note 2 — Transactions of the Moravians, Vol. 4, Part 1.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 51 

Penna. Pioneers of 1723 

father, and also to wipe out the debt owing Penn, by the crown 
for those services, the Province was granted him and his 
heirs.i 

The consideration named in the patent was "two beaver 
skins, to be delivered at Windsor Castle, January ist, every 
year and a fifth of all gold and silver ore to be found within 
its limits. "2 

The Province was governed by a Provincial Council of 
seventy-two persons, a General Assembly and a Governor. 

Three counties were established at the first settlement of 
the Province, 1681 : Philadelphia, Chester and Bucks. With 
this establishment eighty houses were built in Philadelphia. 
A Swede settlement existed there before the advent of Wil- 
liam Penn, who came in 1681 and returned to England 
August 16, 1684. In 1699 he again visited the colony and 
returned November i, 1709. William Penn died July 30, 
1 71 8, at Rushcomb, England.^ 

Lancaster was erected 1729, and York and Cumberland 
followed in 1749 and 1750. March 11, 1752, Berks and North- 
ampton were formed; but it was not until March i, 181 1, 
that Schuylkill was included ; forty-four counties out of the 
67, which form the State, having preceded it. 

Organization of Counties of Pennsylvania Up To 181 1, When 
Schuylkill County Was Erected. 

Adams — January 22, 1800, formed of a part of York. 

Allegheny — September 24, 1788, formed of a part of West- 
moreland and Washington. 

Armstrong — March 12, 1800, formed of a part of Alle- 
gheny, Westmoreland and Lycoming. 

Beaver — March 12, 1800, formed of a part of Allegheny 
and Washington. 



(Note 1 — Original documents in Land Office, Harrisburg.) 
(Note 2— Duke of York's Book of Laws, p. 465.) 
(Note 3— Votes of the Assembly, Vol. 1.) 



52 BLUE BOOK OF 

Penna. Pioneers of 1723 

Bedford — March 9, 1771, formed of a part of Cumberland. 

Berks — March 11, 1752, formed of a part of Philadelphia, 
Chester and Lancaster. 

Bradford — February 21, 1810, formed of a part of Luzerne 
and Lycoming. 

Bucks — One of the three original counties of the Province, 
in 1682. 

Butler — March 12, 1800, formed of a part of Allegheny. 

Cambria — March 26, 1804, formed of a part of Hunting- 
don, Somerset and Bedford. 

Centre — February 13, 1800, formed of a part of Mifflin, 
Northumberland, Lycoming and Huntingdon. 

Chester — One of the three original counties, established 
at the first settlement of the Province, in 1682. 

Clearfield — March 26, 1804, formed of a part of Hunting- 
don and Lycoming. 

Crawford — March 12, 1800, formed of a part of Allegheny. 

Cumberland — January 27, 1750, formed of a part of Lan- 
caster. 

Dauphin — March 4, 1785, formed of a part of Lancaster. 

Delaware — September 26, 1789, formed of a part of Ches- 
ter. 

Erie — March 12, 1800, formed of a part of Allegheny. 

Fayette — September 26, 1783, formed of a part of West- 
moreland. 

Franklin — September 9, 1784, formed of a part of Cum- 
berland. 

Greene — February 9, 1796, formed of a part of Wash- 
ington. 

Huntingdon — September 20, 1787, formed of a part of 
Bedford. 

Indiana — March 30, 1803, formed of a part of Westmore- 
land and Lycoming. 

Jefiferson — March 26, 1804, formed of a part of Lycoming. 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 53 

Penna. Pioneers of 1723 

Lancaster — May 10, 1729, formed of a part of Chester. 

Luzerne — September 25, 1786, formed of a part of North- 
umberland. 

Lycoming — April 13, 1795, formed of a part of Northum- 
berland. 

McKean — March 26, 1804, formed of a part of Lycoming. 

Mercer — March 12, 1800, formed of a part of Allegheny. 

Mifflin — September 19, 1789, formed of a part of Cumber- 
land and Northumberland. 

Montgomery — September 10, 1784, formed of a part of 
Philadelphia. 

Northampton — March 11, 1752, formed of a part of Bucks. 

Northumberland — March 21, 1772, formed of a part of 
Lancaster, Cumberland, Berks, Bedford and Northampton. 

Philadelphia -One of the three original counties estab- 
lished at the first settlement of the Province, in 1682. 

Potter — March 26, 1804, formed of a part of Lycoming. 

Schuylkill — March i, 181 1, formed of a part of Berks and 
Northampton. 

Somerset — April 17, 1795, formed of a part of Bedford. 

Susquehanna — Feb. 21, 1810, formed of a part of Luzerne. 

Tioga — March 26, 1804, formed of a part of Lycoming. 

Venango — March 12, 1800, formed of a part of Allegheny 
and Lycoming. 

Warren — March 12, 1800, formed of a part of Allegheny 
and Lycoming. 

Washington — March 28, 1781, formed of a part of West- 
moreland. 

Wayne — March 21, 1798, formed of a part of Northampton. 

Westmoreland — February 26, 1773, formed of a part of 
Bedford, and, in 1785, part of the purchase of 1784 was added 
thereto. 

York— August 19, 1749, formed of a part of Lancaster. 

(Smull's Hand Book.) 



54 BLUE BOOK OF 

Penna. Pioneers of 1723 

PETITION FOR NEW COUNTY 

The first attempt to erect a new county, out of the parts 
of Philadelphia and Lancaster counties, lying adjacent to the 
Schuylkill River, was made in 1738. Two petitions were pre- 
sented Council, January 13, 1738, by Lieutenant Governor 
George Thomas, of the Province of Pennsylvania. One from 
the inhabitants of Providence and Limerick, Philadelphia 
County, and another from those of the northeast side of the 
County of Lancaster, praying that a new county along lines 
presented on a map before that body, might be created, 
"That they were laboring under inconveniences, by reason 
of their distance from the Courts, held at Philadelphia and 
Lancaster," and many other reasons were given. 

The substance is as follows : 

1st. The Town of Lancaster, where the Courts are held, 
is seated very advantageous for a Division. *** 

2d. That our trade and commerce are equal with that 
of our neighbors, and demand like privileges. *** 

3d. If the seat of justice was fixed upon the Schuylkill 
River, we could then cheerfully attend Courts and dispose 
of our produce. *** 

4th. That many of us are divided from Lancaster by 
ridges of mountains, etc. *** 

5th and 6th. The natural advantages of the situation 
favor the erection. *** 

Your petitioners humbly pray, etc. 

Among the signers of the original petition, who have 
descendants in Schuylkill County, were : 

Johannes Kirshner, Tobias Bickel, Henry and Jacob 
Razer (Reeser), Peter Herbein, George Unruh, Andrew 



(Note — The original copy of the petition from that part, now Berks 
County, may be seen at the Pennsylvania Historical Society, Philadelphia. 
It contains the names of 172 signers, of which 61 were of Welsh extraction 
and the rest Swiss, French and Germans.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 55 
Penna. Pioneers of 1723 

Boyer, Leonard Reed, Cunradt Weiser, John George Ceh, 
Peter Ritter, Henry Griiber, George Heil, Godfrey Fiddler, 
John Schall, John Zerbe, Phillip Zerbe. 

The petition was laid upon the table for further con- 
sideration. 

May 19, 1739, Lieut. Governor Thomas addressed a mes- 
sage to the Assembly, in which he mentions the proposed di- 
vision favorably. The Assembly, however, did nothing and 
after waiting six years the petitioners renewed their request 
for a new county, addressing another petition April 25, 1745. 
This was also laid on the table. This was followed by a similar 
petition praying that, "their former petition may now be con- 
sidered." Several other attempts were made to prevail upon 
the Assembly to consider the division; and on the 28th of 
February, 1745, a committee of the petitioners appeared before 
the House to urge the matter. A resolution was passed that, 
"The House will at their next sitting take the said petition into 
consideration," but it was dropped for five years more. 

More petitions were offered, that were read and re-read 
and again deferred. February 4, 1752, the petitioners were on 
hand with still another petition from the inhabitants of Read- 
ing, that stated that, "That town had but one house, 1750, and 
that it now contained 130 dwellings and 160 families, of 378 
persons, many of whom had removed thither, from comfort- 
able and good plantations, with the expectation of entering 
trade with the erection of a new county," etc. 

After fourteen years of determined persistence, the peti- 
tioners were finally rewarded and the bill became a law, and 
March 11, 1752, Berks County was erected. 

(Note— 4 Col. Records, 317-318.) 

(Note— The new dispensation of reckoning time had not been adopted, 
at this date, in the colonies and .January is referred to as "the eleventh 
month," (March was the first) and May, as the "third month." The 
Pennsylvania Legislature, :March 11, 1752, recognizing the Act of the English 
parliament, 1751, adopting the Gregorian calendar, instead of the Julian, 
beginning the year January first, instead of March 25.) 



56 BLUE BOOK OF 

Penna. Pioneers of 1723 

The city of Reading was laid out in 1748 and named after 
the principal town in Berkshire, England. In one of the pe- 
titions for a new county the advantages to be secured from 
its erection are enumerated. Town lots were sold in 1749, by 
Francis Parvin, Conrad Weiser and Thomas Hartley, but the 
village did not thrive until the establishment of the county, in 
1752.1 

REMONSTRATE AGAINST REVISING 
CONSTITUTION 

In 1779 an attempt was made to destroy the Constitution 
of Pennsylvania. IMemorials were presented the representa- 
tives of the Commonwealth remonstrating against that body, 
adopting measures that would result in an alteration of the 
Constitution of the State, and the Freemen of the interior coun- 
ties, petitioned against it. 

A general form of remonstrance reads : "Whereas, certain 
designing persons, under various specious pretences, but in 
reality prompted by ambition, pride and avarice, are endeav- 
oring to destroy the Constitution and form of government of 
this State, and to deprive the citizens of the inestimable privi- 
leges it secures to them, thereby introducing disorder and 
anarchy on purpose to pave the way for that detestable aris- 
tocracy which they have long meditated. 

And Whereas, etc." 

This general form of remonstrance was signed by indi- 
viduals throughout the State, and it formed the nucleus upon 
which the petitions from the various counties were founded. 

REMONSTRANCES FAILED 

Remonstrances, numerously signed, were forwarded the 
Legislature from Cumberland, York and Lancaster Counties, 
the latter county addressing the assembly by townships ; and 



(Note 1 — Francis Parvin was the great grandfather of Frank Parvin, 
formerly of Pottsville, Pa.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 57 

Penna. Pioneers of 1723 

in more than one instance handling these, their "honorable 
representatives of the Freemen, of Pennsylvania," without 
gloves. 

Berks County was particularly active in its remonstrance 
against this "Tory" measure, and sent a lengthy petition 
against this "extraordinary action of the executive branch." 
Among the seven hundred and thirty-five signers, in Berks 
County, occur many well known names, the ancestors of some 
of the most substantial citizens of Berks, Schuylkill and ad- 
joining counties, some of whom have been mentioned else- 
where in these pages. 

Adam Schultz, Christian Kaercher, 

John Zerbe. James Filbert, 

Daniel Rieth, Andreas Miller, 

Henry Batdorf, Wm. Lerch, 

John Rieth, George Matz, 

Christian Zerbe, George Reber, 

Lenhart Stub, Jacob Strouss, 

Casper Strauss, George Orwig, 

Balser Gehr, Jacob Hoflfman, 

John Neifert, Benjamin Zerbe 

Mathias Staudt, Christian Gruber, 

John Staudt, Peter Filbert, 

Abraham Staudt, Daniel Zerbe, 

and many others of the same surnames and other well known 
Schtiylkill County names.^ 

CONSTITUTION AMENDED 

The remonstrance was signed by 18,000 petitioners in 
the State, but it failed of its object. The constitution adopted 
with the birth of the colonial government, September 6, 1776, 
was altered at the State Flouse, Philadelphia, November 24, 
1789, ten years later, when the delegates from Berks County 
voted for it. 



(Note 1 — Penna. Archives, Second Series, Vol. Ill, pp. 299, 332.) 



58 BLUE BOOK OF 

Indian Troubles in Penna. 



Indian Troubles 



fT IS not within the province of this work to dissect, analyt- 
a I ically, the reasons that led the Red Men to commit their 
^ terrible atrocities upon the inoffensive inhabitants of 
Pennsylvania. It is true the Indians were in actual posses- 
sion of this broad land of ours, until the white man came and 
instigated a policy with the aborigines that was at once both 
unfair and lacked even the basic principles of just dealing 
and honest purchase of their possessions. From the first 
treaty of William Penn and his English agents, to the close 
of the Revolutionary struggle, through the last century and 
up to the present time, the policy of the Colonial and United 
States governments has been to keep the Indians under sub- 
jection by paying them only a moiety of what their lands 
were worth, and then permitting them to be defrauded of 
their purchase money through dishonest Indian agents and 
unscrupulous individuals, whose dealings with them were 
based on the axiom, "There is no good Indian but a dead 
Indian." 

The Quakers hoped by the policy of presenting the Red 
Men, annually, with a few gewgaws, to maintain friendly 
relations with them ; and the Moravians endeavored to instil 
their religious faith into them, but the inroads made upon their 
hunting and fishing grounds, the constant encroachment upon 
their lands by hordes of white settlers who squatted upon 
their possessions without any pretense of paying for them, the 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 59 

Indian Troubles in Penna. 

repeated pushing back of the Indians beyond the newly created 
frontiers, aroused the savage instincts within them, and the 
hostilities that followed are not surprising but rather, perhaps, 
vindicate their course. 

INDIAN POLICY 

After Braddock's defeat, in 1755, they took to the warpath, 
carrying death, destruction and rapine before them, until 
1783-1800, when the final settlement was made with them and 
the policy adopted to abandon the Province for a life upon the 
government reservations. 

The Blue Mountains, of Berks, (Schuylkill) ; and Lancas- 
ter, (Lebanon and Dauphin) counties, were the range along 
which the fiercest attacks and assaults were made. No regular 
warfare was maintained, but bands of savages would creep 
silently upon the defenseless settlers and commit the most 
terrible atrocities upon them, scalping them or dashing out 
their brains and setting fire to their humble dwellings, killing 
or stealing their cattle and burning their crops.^ 

INDIAN FORTS 

In 1756 the Provincial Government established a chain of 
forts along the Blue Mountains, from the Susquehanna to the 
Delaware, at distances from ten to fifteen miles, or more apart, 
on both sides or at the gaps between the mountains. These 
forts were reinforced by block houses, already erected by the 
settlers, as places of refuge and frequently garrisoned by the 
soldiers of the Province. 

The report of the Commission to locate the Indian forts 
devotes about two-thirds of V'ol. i, "Frontier Forts, Pennsyl- 
vania," to the forts along the Blue Mountains. Those of the 



(Note 1 — Daniel Rupp says, "More than 300 men. women and children 
were killed by the Indians, along the Blue Mountains, in the Indian troubles 
between 1750 to 1757.) 



6o BLUE BOOK OF 

Indian Troubles in Penna. 

land within the East and West branches of the Susqviehanna 
River are next in importance. Actual settlement of the Wyo- 
ming Valley was not made until after the purchase of 1762; 
and the forts in the Wyoming were erected from that date to 
1/(83. The forts of the Cumberland and Juniata Valleys began 
with the Harris block house, on the site of Harrisburg, at 
Harris' Ferry, and included forty-five forts, covering sixteen 
counties, being erected mainly by the settlers after the Indian 
purchase, of 1736, and maintained by them to protect the great 
highway of commerce to the west as well as the lives and 
homes of the settlers. 

THE FIRST FORT DUPUI 

The first settlement in Pennsylvania was not at Philadel- 
phia, as is generally supposed, but on the Delaware River, at 
Shawnee, in Monroe County, near Stroudsburg, where a set- 
tlement existed made by a Hollander, from the Netherlands, 
and was known as the Minisink Flats. It antedated the 
William Penn purchase, of 1682, many years. These men were 
Holland miners, and dug ore from the river banks and culti- 
vated the fertile river bottoms for their subsistence. Before 
1725, Samuel Dupui, a Huguenot, settled there and built a log 
house, afterward replaced by a stone house, which was used 
in 1755 as a defense against the Indians and was known as 
Fort Dupui, defending the entire country south of the Blue 
Mountain. 

PROMINENCE OF FORT AUGUSTA 

Fort Augusta, Sunbury, Northumberland County, Penn- 
sylvania, on the east bank of the main branch of the Susque- 
hanna River, near the junction of the north and west branches, 
was built 1756. The French and English were struggling for 
supremacy in America at this date. The French owned Canada 
and the Lakes, and were encroaching upon New York and 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 6i 

Indian Troubles in Penna. 

Pennsylvania. In 1756 a party of them, with their Indian 
allies, came to the forks of the Susquehanna, bringing three 
small cannons with them. The friendly Indians at Shamokin, 
now Sunbury, had urged Governor Morris to erect a block 
house for his and their defense. Seeing the number of men 
at Fort Augusta, then partially constructed, the French and 
Indians Avithdrew, throwing their cannon into the river. The 
importance of that point, as a vantage ground, was recognized 
by the Provincial government and a regular fort was built ; 
two thousand pounds having been voted for its construction 
by the Provincial Assembly, and it was regularly defended 
and manned by a regiment of four hundred men, who were 
deployed to protect the friendly Indians and the settlers of the 
surrounding country, leaving fifty men to garrison the fort.^ 

Fort Augusta was considered a place of great strategic 
importance to the English, in 1756 and in 1777-1778, when the 
Continental army was in dire straits and called loudly for 
help, the military at Fort Augusta were kept active defending 
the settlements, the Wyoming massacre having occurred in 
that year.2 

FORTS ALONG THE BLUE MOUNTAINS 

In August, 1749, the trespass of the new settlers on the 
land of the Indians, north of the Blue Mountains, became a 
subject of complaint to the Provincial Government. The 
Senecas, Onondagos, Tutatoes and Nanticokes, sent delega- 
tions to the Governor to urge him to prevent the newcomers 
from settling north of the mountains. The Governor made 
them presents and the next Indian purchase included the 



(Note 1 — Penna. Archives. 2d series. Vol. 11.) 

(Note 2 — The late S. P. Wolverton, member of Congress, 1896, owned 
the land upon which the Bloody Spring, belonging to the garrison, was 
located, and the Maelay mansion, built in 1773, is owned b}'' his estate 
and was occupied as the family home for years. Mr. Wolverton was the 
father of Mrs. Benjamin (Jumming, of Pottsville.) 



62 BLUE BOOK OF 

Indian Troubles in Penna. 

lands between the Blue and Sharp Mountains, in Brunswick 
Township, on the north side ; Brunswick being so called before 
1752, although not formally erected until 1768. This territory 
was then included (1749) in Lancaster County, and in Berks 
and Northampton Counties in 1752. 

A description of Fort Lebanon, 1756, reads: 

"Fort Lebanon, about twenty-four miles from Gnaden- 
hutten, (Fort Allen, Weissport), in the line to Shamokin 
(Sunbury). Fort one hundred foot square, stockades four- 
teen foot high. House built within, 30x20, with a large store 
room. A spring within. A magazine twelve foot square. 
One hundred families protected by it. No township. Built 
in three weeks, by the soldiers, something considerable given 
by the neighbors toward it."^ 

Fort Lebanon stood on what is now the farm of Lewis 
Marburger, on the north side of the road, about one and a half 
miles from Auburn, and about the same distance from Pine- 
dale, Schuylkill County. Thomas Ebling, fifty-six years old, 
in 1896, was born in an old block house destroyed thirty years 
ago; he was a son of Gideon Ebling, who died 1893, aged 
eighty years, and a grandson of John Ebling, who died in 
1856, aged eighty-five years. Paul Heim lived in the Block 
House during the Indian troubles and the settlers frequently 
took refuge in his house.- 

Thomas Ebling says "his father and grandfather frequent- 
ly showed him the place where the fort stood. "^ 

Of the old fort nothing remains except a hole in the field 
twenty-four feet from the road marking the cellar. A spring 
nearbv would indicate that this was the water used.' 



(Note 1— Penna. Archives, Vol. II, p. 665.) 

(Note 2 — Bernard Reilly, father of Hon. James B. Reilly, settled near 
this point about 1842, before coming to Pottsville and here former Con- 
gressman Reilly was born.) 

(Note 3— Indian Forts, Vol 1, p. 124.) 

(Note 4— May 30, 1913, Mahantongo Chapter, D. A, R. erected a boulder 
on the site of the fort, with public ceremonies.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 63 

Indian Troubles in Penna. 



FORTS LEBANON AND FRANKLIN 

Capt. Jacob j\I organ was in command of Fort Lebanon, 
December 5, 1755, sometimes called Fort William. There 
were fifty-three men stationed here with stores and ammuni- 
tion and Capt. Morgan was ordered to patrol the country to 
Northkill and Allemaengle. 

The Pennsylvania Gazette, September i, 1757, says, "Sev- 
eral Indians have lately been seen prowling about Fort Leba- 
non. Sunday, August 21, the house and barn of Peter 
Semelcke, one and a half miles from the fort, were burned 
and three of his children carried off ; himself, wife and one child 
being away from home at the time." The "Gazette" further 
says, "the accounts from the frontiers are most dismal, that 
some of the inhabitants are killed, or carried olT, houses burned 
and cattle destroyed daily, and the people afflicted with sick- 
ness and unable to run away. The atrocities over the Blue 
Mountains and in Albany and Windsor Townships are fright- 
ful." 

Fort Franklin was situated at the base of the Blue Moun- 
tains nineteen miles from Fort Lebanon. It was erected by 
order of Benjamin Franklin, November, 1755. It is sometimes 
referred to as the fort above Allemaengle, (All Wants), being 
just across the mountain from Albany Township. It was four- 
teen miles from Fort Allen, and is supposed to have been built 
to complete the chain and fill the distance between the Gaps 
of the Schuylkill and Lehigh Rivers. It was on what is now 
the Bolich farm, owned by J. W. Kistler, near West Penn 
Station, on the Lehigh Railway, Lizard Creek branch, 
three quarters of a mile from Snydertown, Schuylkill County. 
Benjamin Franklin Avrites to Robert Hunter Morris, Esq., 
"Foulk is going to build another fort between this (Fort Allen) 
and Schuylkill, (Fort Lebanon), on the land at Surfas'."^ 



(Xote 1— Zerbe History, Part 2,) 



64 BLUE BOOK OF 

Indian Troubles in Penna. 

Fort Franklin was not an important fort and was aban- 
doned 1757.^ 

FORT LEBANON PROMINENT 

Some of the forts, like Fort Everett, were garrisoned but 
their forces were ranged around the country to defend the 
settlers. Rumors being spread that Fort Franklin, in Penn 
Township, Northampton County (now Schuylkill), was to be 
removed to the south of the Blue Mountain, a petition, signed 
by George Gilbert, Adam Spittleman, Henry Hauptman, 
Caspar Langeberger, the widows of Mark Grist and George 
Krammes, "who lost their lives in defense of their country 
last Fall" (they were killed by the Indians), William Ball, 
Phillip Annes, Jacob Leisser, William Weigand, Anthony 
Krum, Phillip Scholl, Jacob Keini, John Frist, Phillip Kirs- 
baum, William Gabel, John Wissemer, Jacob Richards, Chris- 
topher Speeher, John Scheefer and George Sprecher, all of 
Berks County (now Schuylkill), state that, "they will have to 
remove from their plantations, if the fort is removed, and pe- 
tition that it be rebuilt. This petition was read before the 
Provincial Council, Philadelphia, May 7, 1757. The above 
state that they lived within four miles of the fort." 

James Burd, commissioner, 1758, directs Jacob Morgan to 
continue patroling between Fort Lebanon and Allemaengle, 
Albany Township, to Fort Everett, on the south side. 

THE CHAIN OF FORTS 

Fort Henry, at the south side of the mountain, with Fort 
Northkill, west of the Schuylkill River, were too remote to 
benefit the settlers on the north side. The former was three 
miles north of Millersburg, Bethel Township. On the top of 
the mountain stood Dietrich Schneider's block-house, which 



(Note 1— Col. Rec, Vol. VII, p. 16; Penna. Archives, Vol. II, p. 069.) 
(Note 2— Penna. Archives, Vol. Ill, p. 152.) 




FORT LEBANON, BERKS CO. (SCHUYLKILL CO.,) PA., 1755 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 65 

Indian Troubles in Penna. 



commanded a view of the whole valley and was used as. a 
watch tower to apprise the garrisons below. Dietrich Schnei- 
der's was on the direct road to Pottsville and the Shamokin 
road. Fort Swatara was southwest, the forts were twenty-five 
miles apart. Seventy-five people were killed and their houses 
burned in this district.^ 

Dietrich Snyder died 1817 and is buried at Rehrersburg. 
His wife, Dolly, continued to keep the hotel. She was a re- 
markable woman and at ninety-five could dance as nimbly as 
a young girl. She lived to the ripe old age of one hundred and 
fifteen years, and died in the Schuylkill County Hospital, 
having outlived her family .^ 

From Fort Dupui, ranging southwest, on the north side 
of the Blue Mountains, were Forts Hamilton and Penn, Norris 
and Allen and Fort Lehigh Gap, Fort Franklin being the next 
in line. Peter Doll's block house was twenty miles from Du- 
pui's and eight miles from Lehigh Gap, on the south side. 

The ground upon which Fort Norris stood, now owned by 
Charles Frable, son of Conrad Frable, belonged originally to 
the Serfas tract, as did that of the site of Fort Franklin. The 
John Serfas farm is distant about two hundred yards from the 
state road.^ 

FRIENDLY INDIANS 

The revolting atrocities committed by the whites, here- 
abouts, upon the friendly Indians were appalling. Teedy 
Uscung, the Delaware chief at Easton, was faithful to the 
Governor and even entered into an alliance with the English 
to furnish spies to watch the French.* 



(Note 1 — Conrad Weiser's letter, Penna. Archives. Vol. II.) 
(Note 2— Montgomery's History of Berks County, p. 1144.) 
(Note 3 — John Serfas was the grandfather of Nathan and T. H. Serfas, 
the latter Supt. of Public Schools in Monroe County, 1896.) 
(Note 4— Col. Rec. VI, p. 756.) 



66 BLUE BOOK OF 

Indian Troubles in Penna. 

Teedy Uscung was born on the Pocono, on the land of the 
Minisinks, near Stroudsburg. After the Indian hostilities 
closed, 1758, he returned here to live and where he was treach- 
erously murdered, 1763, by a delegation of warriors from the 
Six Nations. A tradition states that one day, at Stroudsburg, 
he met there a blacksmith named William McNab, a rather 
worthless fellow, who accosted him with, "Well, cousin, how 
do you do?" "Cousin, cousin," repeated the dignified red man, 
who was something of a wit, "How do you make that out?" 
"Oh, we are all cousins from Adam," was the reply. "Ah," 
replied Teedy Uscung, with a grunt, "then I am glad it is no 
nearer. "1 

INDIAN ROMANCE 

Fort Lehigh, at Lehigh Gap, was immediately on the north 
side of the mountain, on the road to Fort Allen on the north, 
and Fort Norris on the east. It was built by the settlers 1755 
-'56, and was abandoned 1758. 

Among the settlers living near it was a man named 
Boyer. With the other farmers he gathered his family into 
the block house for protection. One day with his son, Fred- 
erick, then thirteen years old, and the other children he went 
to attend the crops. The father was ploughing and Fred. 
was hoeing, while the rest of the children Avere playing about 
the house, when, without any warning, they were surrounded 
by Indians. Mr. Boyer called to Fred, to run and finding he 
could not reach the house, attempted to save himself by way 
of the creek. He was shot through the head and scalped in 
Fred's presence. The sisters and Fred, were taken captive 
and separated, the former never afterward being heard from. 
Frederick was a prisoner with the Indians in Canada, when he 
was sent to Philadelphia. Of Mrs. Boyer, who remained in the 
block house, nothing was afterward learned. Fred, returned 
to Lehigh Gap and took possession of the farm. He married 



(Note 1 — stone's History of the Wyoming.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 67 

Indian Troubles in Penna. 



a daughter of Conrad Merkhem, with whom he had four sons 
and four daughters. Frederick Boyer was the great grand- 
father of IMahlon Boyer, ktmber merchant of Pinegrove, 
Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania.^ 

FORT ALLEN AT LEHIGH GAP 

Fort Allen was a miserable stockade, with a mounted 
cannon not of much actual use, only as a weapon to intimidate 
the Indians. After the fearful massacre at Gnadenhutten, 
Governor Morris writes: "Everything has been done in the 
county of Northampton, but the people are not satisfied, nor, 
from what I can learn from the commissioners, would they 
be, unless every man's house was protected by a fort and a 
company of soldiers, and themselves paid for staying at home 
doing nothing."- 

That part of Berks and Northampton Counties, now in 
Schuylkill County, was replete with the harrowing details of 
rapine and murder, by the Indians, but the writer will confine 
the narrative to those identified with its early history, or to 
such tales that tradition has handed down through them. 

KILLED BY THE INDIANS 

The Pennsylvania Gazette, April i, 1756, says, "ten 
wagons went up to Allemaengle, Albany Township, to bring 
down a family and as they were returning with the refugees 
they were fired upon by Indians. George Zeisloff and his 
wife, two boys, of fourteen and twelve, and a girl of fourteen, 
all were killed, the others were wounded but not mortally. 
In the same township Adam Trump was killed. His wife, 
although wounded, escaped. His son was taken captive. 
The inhabitants of Brunswick Township, from 1755 to 1763, 
when there was a lull in the hostilities, were greatly alarmed 



(Note 1— Indian Forts of the Blue Mountains, Vol. I, pp. 142, 158, 159.) 
(Note 2— Col. Rec, Vol. VI, p. 771.) 



68 BLUE BOOK OF 

Indian Troubles in Penna. 

by the numerous murders committed. Henry Hartman, who 
lived near the first mountain, in the vicinity of or between 
Landingville and Schuylkill Haven, was found dead lying in 
his house. The Deiberts, who owned what is now the Filbert 
farm, below Schuylkill Haven, buried their farming imple- 
ments and other things of value and were among the refugees. 
On their return they were unable to locate the cache and the 
buried articles did not turn up until long years afterward. 

REGINA HARTMAN CAPTIVE 

On Sculp's Hill, (Orwigsburg), on the site of the Luth- 
eran Church, lived a family named Hartman. During the 
absence of Mrs. Hartman and her son, who had gone to 
Finscher's mill with grist, the father and another son were 
murdered by the Indians, their charred remains with that of 
a dog being found among the ruins of the burned home. Two 
girls were taken captive, Barbara and Regina. They mur- 
dered the family of a man named Smith, who lived near what 
is now Landingville, and took with them their little girl three 
years old. The eldest of the Hartman girls grew lame and 
became very sick when they tomahawked her. Hunters found 
her body and buried it. 

That John Hartman lived upon this spot is incontrovert- 
ible. Hundreds of women and girls were taken captive by the 
Indians during the years, 1755 to 1763, and that Susan Smith, 
the Hartman girls and a sister of Martin Woerner, (Landing- 
ville), were all taken captives is also indisputable. 

The Rev. Henry Melchoir Muhlenberg, son-in-law of Con- 
rad Weiser, who lived upon a tract of land given him by his 
father-in-law, just across the Blue Mountains, in Allemaengle, 
and who had charge of the Lutheran congregations from Al- 
bany Township to the Trappe, wrote that beautiful story of 
Regina Hartman, captive, so familiar to history (Hallische 
Nachrichten, p. 1029.) He states that the widow of John 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 69 

Indian Troubles in Penna. 



Hartman called at his home February, 1765, and related the 
circumstance, stating that, "she had been a member of Rev. 
William Kurtz's congregation and had fled to the Tulpe- 
hocken after the massacre."^ 

OTHER INDIAN CAPTIVES 

Lebanon County historians claim this incident to have 
occurred on the frontiers of Lebanon County. Ex-Governor 
Samuel Pennypacker gives it as "beyond Reading"- ; and a 
Schuylkill County I-Iistorical Society iconoclast, says, "the 
Lebanon captive's name was Leininger and not Hartman" 
and that, "the captives who responded to the singing of the 
hymn, "Allein und doch nicht ganz allein bin ich," were from 
Union County and not Lebanon.^ 

To the unprejudiced mind it would seem that the Rev. 
Melchoir Muhlenberg knew whereof he wrote. Rev. William 
Kurtz had charge of the scattered people above the Blue 
Mountains, preaching at the Red Church, burned by the In- 
dians, 1757. The Allemaengle church and Muhlenberg's home 
were about eight miles across the mountain. The solution 
will, doubtless, be found in the fact that there were four 
hundred of these captives l^rought together by Colonel Bo- 
quet, at Carlisle, and all of the younger ones were reclaimed 
through some familiar action on the part of their friends or 
themselves ; and that there were many such "Reginas"among 
them. 

Of this number. Prof. Frederic Gerhard, (former leader 
of the Third Brigade Band. Pottsville,) related that his ma- 
ternal great great grandmother was one, Margaret Everhard. 
The family lived in the Tulpehocken, Berks County, on the 



(Note 1 — Mrs. Hartman and her daiigliter. Regina. are buried in the 
old cemetery of Christ Lutheran Clmrcli, Stouchsburg. Berl<s County.) 
(Note 2 — Penna. German Society Magazine, Vol. VII, p. 12.) 
(Note 3— No. 8, Vol. Ill, Schuylkill County Historical Society Publi- 
cation.) 



70 BLUE BOOK OF 

Indian Troubles in Penna. 

north side of the Blue Mountain, afterward Pinegrove Town- 
ship. A party of Indians came to the house one night and 
asked in Pennsylvania German to be admitted. The door was 
opened, when the mother was shot down, the house fired and 
the little girl taken captive. She was a young woman when 
returned by her captors and married a man named Simon 
Salada. Prof. Gerhard's mother's name was Bickle ; she was 
a great granddaughter of the Everhards, whose family early 
settled in Barry Township, Schuylkill County ; an uncle, To- 
bias Bickle, seventy years of age, is now living near Ash- 
land.i 2 3 

THE FINSCHER'S AND MILLER'S 

The murder of the Jacob Finscher family, who were 
Quakers and lived about six miles from Fort Lebanon, near 
the junction of the Philadelphia and Reading Railway with 
the Mine Hill branch, above Schuylkill Haven, where stood 
their grist mill, led Jacob Morgan to petition for more men 
for the garrison. 

He writes to Governor Denny that, "they saw tracks and 
followed them to Phillip Culmore's house, thinking to put the 
people on their guard, but found Culmore's wife, daughter and 



(Note 1— Story of Everhard's, Vol. I, Indian Forts, p. 93.) 

(Note 2 — Rupp's History of Berks County.) 

(Note 3 — Mrs. Gerhard has in her possession a huge family bible brought 
with tliem by the Everhard family when they came to this country from 
Holland, about 1742, where they had been Huguenot refugees from Alsace, 
France, from the time the Edict of Nantes was revoked, 1682, and where 
they had lived for several generations.) 

It is a remarkable specimen of the printers and publishers' art of the 
XVI century, printed in Nuremberg and freely illustrated with artistic 
cuts. The German text varies, from large caps, to brevier, minion and 
nonpareil type, as now known and the embellishments would do credit to 
any publisher, of the present day if, indeed, they do not belong to the 
lost arts. It contains beside the regular Old and New Testaments, the 
Apocalypse Minor Prophets, Augsburg confession of the Lutheran faith. 
Life of Martin Luther, and extracts from sermons on the context, by 
Prof. Johan Michael Hilhern, of Nuremberg, and other secular features. 
The translation by Luther was arranged by Dr. Joh. Sauberte and D. 
Salom Gassii.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 71 

Indian Troubles in Penna. 

son-in-law just killed and scalped. Others were missing. Up- 
wards of sixty women and children fled to the fort. Frederick 
Riechelsdorfer and Gerhard's places were attacked and burned, 
and members of their families killed. Martin Fell, his mother- 
in-law and her daughter were killed and two of their children 
taken captive. Many fled across the Blue Mountains, to Alle- 
maengle, among them Heinrich Adam Ketner and his wife 
Katharine.^ 

At the house of Nicholas Long they killed two old men 
and took another captive. There were nine children here who 
doubtless all would have been killed but for the timely arrival 
of Capt. Morgan's men. Nicholas Miller lived on a tract of 
land in what is now Spring Garden, afterward deeded to 
Conrad Minnich. The Finschcrs lived on the other side of the 
Schuylkill and the refugees fled toward Fort Lel:)anon, in the 
direct line of which stood the Heinrich Miller log cabin. 

A young boy who lived with the Finschers escaped and 
notified Ensign SchefTer, who with six men of Captain Kern's 
company was within three-quarters of a mile of Finscher's 
when the massacre occurred. 

About a mile from what is now Auburn, and more than 
one mile from Fort Lebanon, stood Fleinrich Miller's log 
cabin, to which they fled, not being able to reach the fort."' 

Here the Indians murdered four children and took the 
two Miller children captive. Ensign Scheffer and his men 
were in hot pursuit and the other refugees were left unmo- 
lested when they appeared. Miller and his wife were at work 
in a field nearby and saved their lives by flight. Miller was 
pursued for nearly a mile by an Indian who fired twice at him, 
his wife having hid in a thicket, escaped. Ensign Scheffer 
and his squad continued after the savages and fired upon 
them, the Indians returning the fire, a sharp conflict ensuing 
between them, when the enemy fled leaving behind the two 

(Note 1 — Penna. Archives, Vol. Ill, p. 3G. ) 
(Note 2— See Miller History, Part 2.) 



72 BLUE BOOK OF 

Indian Troubles in Penna. 

captive Miller children and a part of the plunder taken. The 
consequence of this attack and the wholesale massacre was 
the desertion of all the settlements beyond the Blue Moun- 
tains.^ 2 

WHEN THE FLIGHT OCCURRED 

The date of the desertion is variously given. The Penn- 
sylvania Gazette, October 19, 1758, gives this Indian upris- 
ing, "which extended from the Tulpehocken to the massacre 
of the Moravian Indians, at Gnadenhutten, as October 4, 
1758. Rupp's Berks County History, p. 'j'j, says "the flight 
took place September, 1763." The former date would seem 
to be correct. The Red Church was burned 1757, and family 
tradition places the flight of all the inhabitants north of the 
Blue Mountains, in Brunswick Township, as soon after that 
date. There is no doubt that many returned at intervals to 
plant and gather their crops before returning permanently, 
and that at least three flights were made by some of the least 
venturesome before they returned to remain. 

The atrocities committed at the base of the mountains 
on the south side induced the inhabitants of Windsor and 
Albany Townships also to flee before the marauders. 

Conrad Minnich, who lived with his father at the "Seven 
Stars" in 1752- 1757, keeping a road house on the site of the 
present hotel, on the State road from Reading to Sunbury, 
were burned out by the Indians and he fled to the Tulpe- 
hocken subsequently returning.^ ^ 



(Note 1 — It has been frequently asked why the settlers did not take 
refuge in Fort Lebanon? It was inadequate for the number of settlers. 
With fifty-three men stationed there, the number of people settled within 
ten miles could not be housed within its limits and they were obliged to 
flee south of the Blue Mountain.) 

(Note 2— Miller's History, Part 2.) 

(Note 3 — The Pennsylvania Gazette, September 1, 1757.) 

(Note 4 — Rupp's History of Berks County contains an extract which 
says, "the Finscher massacre was the cause of the desertion of all the 
settlements north of the Blue Mountain.") 







Land 






4- 







^ S:^^. 



^ 




^ 



f V, 



On 












h */¥ 1 

in the «'<»'■''' Coytttyi 
of Six Months' fromj 
vince, for every Hij 
Acre thereof, to us, i 
vey, or caufe to be fii 
according to the Met; 
Acres, if not ah-eady 
for Cgjrarmation ; tc 

fhallj^^'"^^d, odu 

cerumTvS^ers from tk 
Anno Domini One I 



'Xo John LuhnSj Surveyor-Gene. 



-■ ■ ■■'■-'^^'^f'^-- ■ 



ORIGINAL DEED FROM JOHN PENN TO CONRAD 31 



PROPRIETARIES. 



n. 



- hath 
Acres of 



r i^y/Ui-n.^^ of the County of C^<i't-ftJ - 



■j-'t 



iaJ/*J 



^^4/^1^^ 



/I. 



for which '/^^ agrees to pay to our Ufe, within the Term 
ereof, at the Rate of Fifteen Pounds, TmShilUngs, current Money of this Pro- 
;s; and alfo to pay the yearly rhiit-ifent oi One Halfpenny Sterling for every 
ad Affigns io^ ever : The&/are dieccf(^|p authorife and require you to fur- 
:o the {aid ^4f->i^oc«/*x^6;«-'z<.^ -. '"'-—~^ at the Place aforefaid, 

ifliips appomted, the fuid (Quantity of t-Uxz-^/icf /in^.c4^ y— ■ 

r appro priated,_*nd make Return thereof into the Secralary's Office, in order 
s fliall be your fufficient Wairant : Which Warrant and Sur\'ey, in cafe the 

. fulJil the above agreement within Six Months from the Date hereof, 

, GIVEN under my Hand oiiiLtb^^cal of the Land-Offici, by Virtue of 

lETARiEs, ^/Philadelphia, //i/V /v^^!^^iSr- — Day of y ^-,. 

en Hundred and^ >4^^ / • ., y^ -^ ^/ '^ ^uc^y/^ } 




OR SEVEN STARS, SCHUYLKILL COUNTY, PROPERTY. 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 
Indian Troubles in Penna. 



73 



BY THE PROPRIETARIES 

(Copied from the original) 

Pennsylvania, ss. Whereas Conrad 
Minich of the county of Berks, hath 
requested that we would allow him to 
take up One Hundred acers of land, 
ajoining Jno Schwartz, Jno. Dunder 
Interest and Quit Rent ^^^ Martin Bodorgers lands, beyond 

from 7 March 1760 By . ^ . •' 

Special Order of the the blue mountains, and to include an 

Governor. Improvement setled by the said Conard 

Wm. Peters, ^ -^ 

Sect. Minnich for years before the breakmg 

out of the last Indian War in 1755, 

which obliged him to fly from his said 

Improvement, and all his buildings of 

considerable value were burnt by the 

Indians. 

In the said county of Berks — for 

which he agrees to pay to our use 

within the term of six months from 

the date hereof at the rate of fifteen 

pounds ten shilling current money of 

this Province, for every hundred acers ; 

To Daniel Brodhead, 11. ^1 1 -, , r 

Esq., Deputy Surveyor. ^"^1 ^Iso to pay the yearly quit rent of 

Execute this Warrant one Half Penny Sterling for every Acer 
thereof, to us, our Heirs and Assigns, 
for ever ; these are therefor to author- 
ize and require you to survey or cause 
to be surveyed unto the said Conard 
Minich at the place aforesaid according 
to the method of Townships appointed, 
and said quantity of One Hundred 
Acers. 
If not already surveyed, or appropriated, and make Re- 
turn thereof into the Secretary's office, in order for confirma- 
tion, for which this shall be your sufficient Warrant. Which 



and make return of 
Surety into the Secre- 
tary office — 

for John Lukens, Esq. 
Robert Dill 



74 BLUE BOOK OF 

Indian Troubles in Penna. 

warrant and survey in case the said Conard Minich — fulfills 
the above agreement within six months from the Date 
hereof, shall be valid otherwise void. Given under my Hand 
and the seal of the land office by virtue of certain Powers 
from the said Proprietaries, at Philadelphia this thirteenth 
day of January, Anno Domini, One Thousand Seven Hundred 
and fifty five.^ 

JOHN PENN. 
To John Luken, 
Surveyor-General. 

THE NEYMAN MASSACRE 

About the year 1780 a military post was established at 
the Schuylkill Gap, near Cape Horn, below Mt. Carbon, for 
the protection of the inhabitants and the woodmen who were 
engaged in cutting timber from the gap, the present site of 
Landingville. The huge trees were intended for masts for 
the ships of the French navy, the ally of the Colonial govern- 
ment, in the War of Independence. A saw mill, owned by 
Balsar Gehr, stood at the mouth of the Norwegian Creek, 
where it empties into the Schuylkill River (Mt. Carbon), 
which was in charge of John Neyman, sawyer. Neyman 
lived on the brow of the hill, in a small log cabin, in the rear 
of where the Pottsville Hospital now stands. 

MILITARY COMES TO THE RESCUE 

A letter, August 30, 1780, from Valentine Eckart to V. 
P. Moore states, that "John Negman (y) who lived at the 
saw mill about three miles above Conrad Minnich's, on Sun- 
day was, with his wife and three young children, barbarously 
murdered by the Indians."- Colonel Eckart applied to the Pro- 
vincial Council for protection and ammunition. Captain 
Dennis Leary, in command of the detachment protecting the 



(Note 1 — See index for copy of original.) 
(Note 2— Vol. 8, p. 529, Penna. Archives.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 75 

Indian Troubles in Penna. 



workmen cutting masts, also wrote Commissioner Moore, 
September i, 1780, informing him that he, with a detail of 
four men, buried the Neyman family and was joined in the 
pursuit of the Indians by Captain Baldy with ten men and 
the next day by Colonel Lindermuth with fifty men between 
them. They scoured the woods to Reading but found no 
traces but a house and barn, on the Little Schuylkill River, 
were burned and a little boy, named Shurr, was missing. 
Sixty men were left at different settlements to protect the 
people. More protection was needed as the cunning savages 
rendered the masts cut unfit for usage by nicking or notching 
them.^ 

HOW "OLD DRESS" SCARED THE INDIANS 

How "Old Dress" scared the Indians in the Indian mas- 
sacre after the French and Indian War shows what a strate- 
gist can do if he has courage and is endowed with enough 
presence of mind. The Dress family lived in the Panther 
Valley, (Bender Thai). 

The Indians had been friendly at first, but since success 
was beginning to crown the efforts of the hardy pioneers, 
there were mutterings of discontent among them, and they 
had upon one or two occasions shown their hostility, but no 
real depredations had been perpetrated as yet. 

Murders had been committed farther south, defenseless 
women and children were scalped or taken into captivity, 
their homes burned and their cattle driven away and the 
settlers were tortured beyond measure, but "Bender Thai" 
remained unmolested. 

Word came one day that there was an uprising among 
the Indians and that they were headed for the Valley. The 
block stockade. Fort Lebanon, near what is now Auburn, had 
served upon early occasions as a place of refuge for the 



(Note 1— Penna. Archives, Vol. 8, p. 542.) 



76 BLUE BOOK OF 

Indian Troubles in Penna. 

settlers when in danger of being attacked ; but it was now 
abandoned and the thoroughly frightened pioneers in 
"Bender Thai" made their preparations to flee to the block 
house, near the site of Schuylkill Haven. 

The women and children were gathered together and 
placed in charge of George Zerbe, who gathered the cattle to 
drive them to a place of safety. The Dress family formed 
part of the little caravan that turned toward the fort, but 
"Old Dress" was obdurate. He would not go.^ 

He was the first settler to discover rich farming land in 
that locality. He had spent several years in the "Thai" re- 
turning again and again to it and finally brought to it his 
wife and family. The Indians had given him the first kernels 
of corn which he planted as seed and in turn he had shown 
them how to fashion the rude farming implements he used, 
the iron for which he brought from the Lesher, Pott furnace, 
on Maxatawny creek. 

Once he had opened an abscess for "Sagawatch," the 
great chief of the mongrel tribe, and dressed it with home- 
made salve. Not without some display of the necromancer's 
art, it must be confessed, for he knew he was powerless among 
them, and "Sagawatch" was cured. He had frequently treated 
their "boils" with which they were afflicted, the result of dirt 
and squalor and improper food, for they were a lazy set, and 
looking upon him as something of a medicine man, the Indians 
called him the "Little White Father;" and believed, some of 
them, that he had supernatural powers. 

It was only the week before that an apparently friendly 
set had visited him. The mother had just completed the fam- 
ily baking in the huge Dutch oven back of the log cabin and 
on the plea of wanting a present from the "Little White 
Father" everyone of the large brown well-baked loaves of 



(Note 1 — Valentine Tress was a taxpayer in Pine Grove Township, 
Berks (Schuylkill) County, 1772. His will shows George Zerbe, Sr., and 
George Zerbe, Jr., as administrators of his estate.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 77 

Indian Troubles in Penna. 



bread had found their way into a sack with other things they 
managed to lay hands on, and the good wife had another batch 
of bread to make. In the meantime the family subsisted on 
potato buffers," (a species of hoecakes made of grated potato 
and flour and baked on the hearth) until the leaven had raised 
and the new bread was again baked. 

Just a glance at "Old Dress" would show that he was not 
a man to be trifled with. Short, stout, broad of girth, and 
with sincAvy muscles that stood out like whip cords, he was 
the picture of health and alert activity. His face was smooth 
and red and as has often been said of men who wear that type 
of whiskers, around the face from ear to ear underneath the 
chin, it was easy to be seen he was a man of determination. 
He wore his hair, which was scant, for he was partially bald, 
all combed up after the fashion of those days into a single 
tuft on the top of his head. This tuft from long practice 
stood up straight. If anyone could circumvent the Indians, 
the settlers knew he could. There was little time for par- 
leying and the women and children with their leaders were 
soon out of sight. 

Dress made his way hurriedly to the hillside and 
screened from view by some friendly bushes, watched the 
approach of the redskins. They came, some seated on their 
Indian ponies, the young braves running at the sides of the 
old men. Smeared with their war paint and with their war 
toggery on, beating their tom-toms and yelling like mad, they 
struggled up the defile. 

He could not count them, although he at first tried. 
There was Sagawatch, too, the greasy villain and traitor. 
What could he do single handed against so many, with his 
one old flint lock musket and home-made cartridges and 
Marie not here to help load. 

He fingered the tuft of hair, his top-knot, which he knew 
would soon be hanging with the other smoking and gory 



78 BLUE BOOK OF 

Indian Troubles in Penna. 

scalps from the belts of the foremost of the band, and 
his mind was made up. Taking an extra hitch at his 
rusty brown linsey woolsey trousers and rolling up the 
sleeves of his yellow grey woolen shirt, he ran as hard 
as he could in the direction of the oncoming murderous 
crew and in full view of them to the crest of the near- 
by hill. Screaming and yelling at the top of his voice 
and wildly gesticulating with his long bare arms and 
pointing with his fingers : "Come on. Boys," he yelled. "Here 
are the Indians." (Cum Buva, dah sin Sie, die Incha.) He 
screamed until he was purple with rage and told one imagin- 
ary party, with the wildest of signs and commands, to close 
up the defile and prevent their escape, the others should file 
up the left and right and surround them, and the rest should 
follow him. "Sagawatch," the murderous "tuyfel," could un- 
derstand German he knew, for he himself had taught him 
many words in the current vernacular. And then, still 
screaming as loud as he could and doubly gesticulating, he ran 
down the hill with all his might toward the red warriors, 
who thought they were being attacked by at least a battalion 
of soldiers under command of "Old Dress," whom Capt. Leary 
had reinforced with his squad, and they showed the white 
feather and turned tail and fled as fast as they could in the 
direction in which they had come. 

All night "Old Dress" watched at the single window of the 
little log hut. His blunderbuss and old musket ready, he would 
sell his life as dearly as possible, if they returned ; but they 
never did. 

When the settlers returned, "Old Dress" was quietly sit- 
ting in front of his cabin mending an old fish net. The cattle 
had all been recovered by him from their impounding in the 
clearings in the mountain fastnesses and returned to their 
rightful owners. The cows had been milked, the cream wa? 
ready for the good wives to churn and everything was going 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 79 

Indian Troubles in Penna. 

on as usual. The Indians never molested the settlers again, 
and even to this day "Old Dress" is a hero to the descendants 
of the families of the early settlers of "Bender Thal."^ 

The Indian path along Sharp Mountain to Indian Run 
and the remains of the Indian village, at Swatara Creek, show- 
many traces of a peaceful occupation of the land by the sav- 
ages at this point. The settlers were mainly of a migratory 
character in the west end, at this date, and they prudently 
avoided an encounter with the savages, or the latter who fre- 
quently used these paths from Berks County to Fort Augusta 
(Sunbury) were, doubtless, too much engrossed with larger 
game when on the war path and left them unmolested. 

INDIAN STORY 

One of the Indian legends related by an aged resident of 
the Panther Valley, was that of an Indian ghost, who wandered 
around the crags and bluffs through which the Swatara Creek 
runs, near Swatara. His father told him that the Indians who 
lived there had been out on a marauding trip and returned with 
a large amount of loot and some gold. One of the braves con- 
cealed the gold under a rock near the creek. He was killed by 
his companions for the treachery, and ever after his wraith was 
seen wandering in and out among the rocks to find his ill- 
gotten treasure. The narrator remembered frequently tracing 
his steps in and out on the Indian causeway, to find that 
treasure. His genii was the red man's ghost, whom he hoped 
to encounter some time unexpectedly and wrest from him his 
secret of wealth that would prove as fabulous as that of the 
hidden recesses in Monte Christo's Halls, but he never found 
him nor the treasure. 

Gold w^as said to have been found upon the "Gobbleberg," 
(near Schuylkill Haven) and the Indian superstition claimed 
that when it thundered and lightened, the rocks were some- 
times cleft in twain and the hidden recesses were discovered to 



(Note 1— Old Schuylkill Tales.) 



8o BLUE BOOK OF 

Indian Troubles in Penna. 

be gorged with nuggets of gold. Whoever could claim them 
before they closed was in favor with the spirits of the air, 
and the genii of the mountain. Many hunted for this gold, but 
it was like hunting for the pot of that precious metal that hangs 
at the horns of the prismatic rainbow. 

Many of the flights, by the thoroughly frightened settlers, 
to the block houses and Indian forts were superinduced by 
false alarms. "The Indians are coming" ("Die Incha Kum- 
mah"), was sufficient to startle the sparse communities into 
almost immediate flight. On one occasion an old woman, 
whose son could carry her no further, was left in the woods 
(at her own request) to die. She could not live much longer 
anyway, she said, while the rest of the family hastened on to 
a place of safety. When the Indians came up to her place of 
refuge they proved to be a squad of Captain O'Leary's Co- 
lonial Guards, who were protecting the woodsmen out to 
sight such timber as was needed to cut for the use of the 
navy yard at Philadelphia, and they carried the old lady to a 
place of safety between them. 

Another legend is told of an Indian maiden, Wanomanie, 
who sprang from the highest point of the rocky crags on the 
pinnacle of Sharp Mountain, (south of Henry Clay's Monu- 
ment,) into the declivity below and was killed. All because 
her father, Sagawatch, would not allow her to marry the dusky 
lover of her choice. It was said that on moonlight nights, in 
harvest time, she could be seen on a misty evening, through 
the clouds, taking the spring into the abyss below, her lover a 
close second, taking the leap after her, and Sagawatch leaning 
over the crest of the mountain to watch the lovers going to 
their certain death. Whether these ghostly sights were only 
apparent to those who had been imbibing too freely of spirits 
of another brand, or whether they were the innocent victims 
of hallucinations will be left to the vivid imagination of the 
readers. 1 



(Note l~"01d Schuylkill Tales.") 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 8i 

War of the Revolution 



War of the Revolution 



fROU the passage of the infamous Stamp Act, 
March, 1765, by the British Parliament, when 
^ Benjamin Franklin declared, "The Sun of Ameri- 
can liberty has set"; and when Patrick Henry, in 
the House of Burgesses, in the oldest American 
com.mon wealth, Virginia, denounced the Act in the 
presence of two of the future presidents of the United 
States, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, who were 
Provincial delegates ; to the attempted enactment of the Bos- 
ton Port Bill, June 18, 1774; through the dark days following 
the offering of the resolution in Congress, June 7, 1776, by 
Richard Henry Lee, of Virginia, declaring that, "the United 
Colonies were and ought to be free" and the involving of Lee's 
resolution into the subsequent Declaration of Independence, 
which as a formal document was adopted July 4, 1776; 
during the bitter struggle of the infant republic, to the sur- 
render of Lord Cornwallis, October 19, 1781 ; and the declara- 
tion of peace and the ratification of the treaty and final de- 
parture of the British troops, November 25, 1783; during the 
sacrifices and struggles incident to an eight year's war with 
a powerful nation, Pennsylvania, was ever loyal to the cause 
and motives that actuated the colonists to withdraw from the 
oppressive protection of England and establish the grandest 
and most effectual form of Republican government on the 
face of the globe. 

The Pennsylvania Associators and committee of obser- 
vation represented the sentiments of the yeomanry of the 
state. They stood in the same relation to the American 



83 BLUE BOOK OF 

War of the Revolution 

colonies and their leaders in the War of the Revolution, 
as did the First Defenders, when Abraham Lincoln issued his 
first call for troops in the Civil War. 

At a meeting held in Reading, July 2, 1774, resolutions 
were ])assed and a committee appointed to meet with other 
committees in Philadelphia, from the ditTerent counties in the 
Province. From the first formation of the Associators, the 
Berks County contingent were active in their support of the 
military defense of the rights of the colonists, contributing 
the allotted quota of men and forage for the army ; and in 
raising the necessary supplies and money for the sinews of 
war. 

The following composed part of the first committee 
chosen to represent Berks County at the Provincial meeting, 
Philadelphia : 

Edward Biddle, James Lewis, Christopher Schultz, Mark 
Bird and John Jones. None of the Associators lived north of 
the Blue Mountains, but Dr. Jonathan Potts, Secretary, 
owned tracts of coal land around what is now St. Clair ; and 
Baltzar Gehr owned and operated a saw mill on the site of 
Pottsville, at the mouth of the Norwegian Creek where it 
etnpties into the Schuylkill River. Others of the Associators 
w<'re : William Reeser, Christopher Witman, John 01d,i 

Sebastian Levan, George Nagel, Michael Bright, John 
Patton and Jacob Shoemaker, Associators, are closely allied 
with this region through their descendants of successive gen- 
erations who populate Schuylkill County .2 

After the battle of Lexington was fought, April 19, 1775, 
eight companies of riflemen were raised in Pennsylvania to 
join the Continental army, near Boston : of these that of Cap- 



(Note 1 — John Old was the ancestor of Daniel Old, a carpenter and 
contractor, who lived in Pottsville, 1840-'60. He built and owned the 
residence, 409 West Market Street, among other properties. He left no 
dp«;cendants.) 

(Note 2— Penna. Archives, 5th Series, 5th Vol., p. 138.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 83 
War of the Revolution 

tain George Nagel was the first from Berks County. They 
joined Colonel Thompson's battalion of twelve companies of 
riflemen and were the first troops from Pennsylvania to reach 

Boston.! 

Efforts were made to recruit companies from each of the 
townships and the quotas of the more thickly settled portions 
of the county were augmented by recruits from the straggling 
and remote borders. The Welsh of Caernarvon Township 
raised a company of eighty-three Associators that were in the 
campaign in Canada during that dreadful retreat in mid- 
winter from Quebec. Other companies from Berks were in 
the Massachusetts' campaign and in the army of the Southern 
Department and participated in the final capitulation of 
Cornwallis. 

The Captains of these companies, of the regular Continen- 
tal line, were: Henry Christ, Miles Regiment; Jonathan 
Jones, First Pennsylvania Battalion; Benjamin Weiser, 
Hausegger's Regiment; Jacob Bauer, Oddendorf's Corps; 
John Spohn, Magaw's Battalion ; John Lesher, Patton's Regi- 
ment ; Jacob Moser, Harmar's Sixth Regiment. 

At a Provincial Conference, held at Carpenter's Hall, 
Philadelphia, June 18-25, 1776, provision was made to form a 
"Flying Camp," of 10,000 men, in the middle colonies ; the 
quota for Pennsylvania being 4,500 men ; this militia to march 
to such place as ordered by Congress. July 13, 1776, Berks 
County reported as having raised more than their quota of 
men to complete the battalion. 

March 17, 1777, a militia law was passed by the Penn- 
sylvania Assembly. The President of the Supreme Executive 
Conncil of the Commonwealth was to commission one free- 
holder in each county to serve as a lieutenant of the militia 
for the said counties. The constables of each township, 
borough, ward or district in the said counties were to return 
(Note 1— Pcnna. Archives, 2d Series, Vol, X, pp. 3-13-34.) 



84 BLUE BOOK OF 

War of the Revolution 

to the lieutenant an exact Hst of tlie names of every male 
white person residing within the township, borough, ward or 
district, between the ages of eighteen and fifty-three years, 
capable of bearing arms. Each county was to be sub-divided 
into districts, each district to contain not less than 440 and 
more than 680 privates and each district was to be sub-divided 
into eight parts. The militiamen of the district were required 
to meet and elect three field officers ; one colonel, one lieu- 
tenant colonel and one major, who were to be freeholders 
and inhabitants of the district and the militia men of the sub- 
divisions were to elect one captain, two lieutenants, one 
ensign and two persons to be styled court martial men, who 
shall respectively l)e such persons as are entitled to vote for 
members to serve in the General Assembly. The whole of 
the militia so enrolled were required by law to be exercised 
in companies, under their special officers, on the last two 
Mondays in the month of April and three first Mondays in 
the month of May and in battalion on the fourth Monday in 
May and in companies on the last two Mondays in the month 
of August and the last two Mondays in the month of Sep- 
tember and the third Monday in the month of October and 
in battalion on the fourth Monday in October. On which 
days officers and privates were expected to attend and drill 
under penalties of fines. 

Brunswick Township, under this law, was organized into 
the third battalion or northern section of Berks County. The 
battalion officers were : Colonel, Michael Lindemuth, Bern 
Township ; Lieutenant Colonel, George May, Winsor Town- 
ship, and Major, Martin Kercher, Winsor Township. The 
officers of the second company of the battalion, which was 
the Brunswick Company, were: Captain, Conrad Minnich; 
1st Lieutenant, John Graul ; 2nd Lieutenant, John Stout; 
Ensign, Phillip Boning; Court Martial men, Gideon Moyer, 
John Crawford and George Stout. 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 85 

War of the Revolution 



October 17, 1777, General Washington reported that, 
"the term of service of many of the military had expired and 
that one-half of the men capable of bearing arms, from the 
ages of eighteen to fifty-eight, should be called into the field." 
The quota from Berks County was three hundred men and 
one hundred and fifty men in Berks were recruited January 
I, 1778. The system of supplying men was simple and ef- 
fective. It was carried on in such a manner as to render as- 
sistance to the government without the people suffering losses. 
The time of service was short and many returned and attended 
to their crops, upon which the army depended for forage and 
supplies and that their families might not starve, and went 
out again. Others oft'ended against discipline and went home 
to attend to their affairs before their terms of service expired 
and almost invariably returned when a fight was impending. 
Through this method several hundred militia men were kept 
in the field continuously, from Berks County, to reinforce the 
operations of the regular line under General Washington. 

It will be noted by the above that the term "Court Mar- 
tial" was not one of opprobrium, nor was it used in the mili- 
tary sense now given it. A "Court Martial" man, in the 
Revolutionary war, was a "reputable citizen" and ranked next 
to ensign. 

THE OATH OF ALLEGIANCE 

The General Assembly, of Pennsylvania, June 12, 1777, 
passed an Act recjuiring the men of the State to take an oath 
of allegiance and fidelity to this State. This was necessary 
owing to the loosely joined federation of states in rebellion 
against the King and to having no constitution ; the test oath 
showing who would openly stand for the new government. 

This oath required great courage on the part of those 
who took it, for if the revolutionary cause should fail, their 
property would surely be confiscated and they, themselves, 
be imprisoned. 



86 BLUE BOOK OF 

War of the Revolution 

In some of the counties of the State many declined to take 
the oath, but in Berks County nearly every man took it ; the 
original lists (Berks County Historical Society Library) con- 
taining about six thousand names. These men were formed 
into eighty or ninety companies, of sixty-four men each, and 
many of them in turn served some time in the field. 

Of the men of Berks County, who served in the Revolu- 
tionary war, as Associators, Militia men, or long term Conti- 
nentals, scarcely two-thirds of their names are on record. A 
few of these missing names may occasionally turn up but the 
bulk of them will never be found. 

In some of the Western States, where societies of the 
D. A. R. and Sons of Veterans exist, this taking of the oath 
of allegiance is considered sufficient evidence for admission 
to the organizations.^ 

As has been heretofore stated, the Berks County militia 
men, all of whom took the oath of allegiance, guarded pris- 
oners, were in the campaign in New Jersey; while Wash- 
ington's army was at Valley Forge they reinforced it and 
assisted the militia of other counties in patroHng and guard- 
ing the open country between the Schuylkill and Delaware 
rivers, and also participated in the battles of Brandywine and 
Germantown. 

Of the six battalions of Berks County militia no complete 
records have ever been found. They may never have been 
recorded in the Pennsylvania Archives, or they may have 
been lost or were most probably burned in 1808 or 1814. In 
the former year many public documents were destroyed that 
had been stored in a two-story frame building in Washington, 
D. C, and when the British forces of General Ross, September 
24, 1814, marched unopposed into the city and burned all of 



(Note 1 — A D. A. R. woman, in Nebraska, obtained an oath of alle- 
giance record from Berks County of her great grandfather (George 
Laucks) and received an added "Bar" for it (1913), and a short time ago 
sent for proof of another ancestor of hers, (John Lorah.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 87 

War of the Revolution 



the public buildings, except the patent office, many valuable 
papers, among them the military rosters, were consumed in 
the holocaust. 

August 17, 1777, Jacob Morgan reported that twelve com- 
panies of militia had marched from Reading, the whole num- 
ber of whose officers and men were six hundred and fifty-six. 
The total number of militia men from the State, at that date, 
was two thousand, nine hundred and seventy-three. 

(Another authority fixes the number from Berks as seven 
hundred and thirty.) 

The battalions from Berks County were under Colonels 
Undree (Uttery) and Hunter. 

From the State returns, church records, newspapers and 
family returns of private papers and deaths, the list in the 
Pennsylvania Archives, of these men, is being slowly aug- 
mented, but of the five German companies from the vicinity 
of Womelsdorf, whose rosters were lost, little is known. 

Captain Jacob Livingood's Riflemen, of Middletown, now 
Womelsdorf, were formed September, 1781. The company 
served until January, 1782. The roster of this company was 
among the five never recovered. The members of these 
companies were from Heidelburg and Tulpehocken Townships. 

As the old church records are being slowly translated and 
old tombstones unearthed in the early cemeteries, and private 
family records are being transmitted to the State, the Penn- 
sylvania German Society and the State and County Historical 
Societies, some of these rosters may be partially re-incarnated, 
but there is yet much to unearth of the records of the seventy 
thousand individual soldiers Avho formed the armv of the war 
of the Revolution. 

"There were four thousand militia from six districts of 
Berks County. The first company, third battalion, was from 
Pinegrove Township." 

(Note 1 — Penna. Associators, Vol. II, pp. 257-276.) 



88 BLUE BOOK OF 

War of the Revolution 



(Note) — In the United States a battalion consisted of 
two, four, six, eight or ten companies, according to circum- 
stances and was commanded by the senior ofificer present. 
The number of men in a battalion varied from one hundred to 
one thousand. In the Revolutionary War the maximum 
number was six hundred and eighty privates, three field offi- 
cers, one colonel, one lieutenant colonel and one major. The 
companies each had one captain, two lieutenants, one ensign, 
four sergeants and two court martial men. 

Of the twelve captains that composed these battalions of 
militia, three were men from that part of Berks County now 
included in Schuylkill County, Captains Michael Furrer 
(Forrer), Jacob Wetstein (\\n'ietstone), and Conrad Minnich. 
There were a number of men from the vicinity of what is 
now McKeansburg and West Penn, then included in North- 
ampton County, who enlisted under Captain Brucker, of that 
county. 

Michael Forrer recruited his company from "the western 
section of Berks County (now Schuylkill), and the Tulpe- 
hocken."^ 

Capt. Michael Furrer's- ^ (Forrer) Co., stationed at South 
Amboy, N. J., September 5, 1776. Bat. of Col. John Patton. 

Captain, Michael Forrer; ist Lieutenant, Nicholas Sey- 
bert ; 2nd Lieutenant, John Gernan ; Sergeants, Adam An- 
spach (Alspach,) Henry Spang, Peter Leis, Philip Anspach, 
(Alspach) ; Ensign, Jacob Read (Rieth) ; Drummer, William 
Sherman; Fifer, Adam Read (Rieth). 

Privates — George Wendlewolf, Peter Smith, John Keiser, 
Christian Witman, George Kantner, George Swartz, Daniel 
Sheffer, John Troutman, Michael Hoffman, Michael Bruker, 
William Feygert, Henry Deerwechter, George Deerwechter, 
Valentine Schiffller, Peter Deefenbach, Jacob Ruhl, Simon 



(Note 1 — Penna. Archives, 5th Series, Vol. II, p. 249.) 

(Note 2 — Andrew Miller History.) 

(Note 3 — Michael Forrer lived in Pine Grove Township.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 
War of the Revolution 



Linok, Frederick Sheffer, Valentine Troutman, Daniel Read, 
Peter Stein, Henry Koch, Adam Schnee, William Scheefer, 
George Emerich, Conrad Hoster, George Winter, Peter Hous- 
er, Nicholas Read, HEINRICH MILLERi, Jonas Read, 
Nicholas Lechner, John Stup, Daniel Kuff, Andreas Aulen- 
bach. 

The above company was recruited from both sides ot the 
Blue Mountain. 

The Wetsteins were from near McKeansburg, and are on 
record from Pinegrove Township, their company was recruited 
largely from the north side of the Blue Mountain. 

August 7, 1777, Jacob Wetstein's Company, mustered un- 
der Colonel Daniel Hunter, of Oley, and was on duty around 
Philadelphia, participating in the battle of Germantown under 
General Washington. The return roster of the company is 
given as containing forty-nine men and eight officers and in- 
cludes the following: May 17, 1777. 

First Company, Captain Jacob Wetstein.-' 

Ensign, Flenry Wetstein; Conrad Shefifer, Rudolph Buz- 
zard, Ludwig Flerring, George Brouch. 

The battalion of Colonel Daniel Udree, of Oley, was mus- 
tered in at the same date. To this command belonged the 
company of Captain Conrad Minnich, of Brunswick Town- 
ship (Manheim). No trace of this roster has been found. 
The company was made up of men from both sides of the Blue 
Mountain. The return report of third class, Berks County 
Associators and Militia, Col. Daniel Udree, shows Captain 
Conrad Minnich's Company to have had on the muster roll } 
one captain, two lieutenants, one ensign, four sergeants, one 
drum and fifer, four substitutes. 



(Note 1 — Heinrich Miller lived in Brunswick afterward Manheim Town- 
ship. He was the ancestor of all of the descendants of Andrew Miller, Sr. — 
Miller History.) 

(Note 2 — The descendants of Jacob and Henry Wetstein reside at Ta- 
maqua, Schuylkill County, and spell their name "Whetstone.") 

(Note 3 — Penna. Archives, 5th Series, Vol. 5, pp. 128-201.) 



go BLUE BOOK OF 

War of the Revolution 

Nine officers and forty-one privates, making a total of 
iifty men, mustered as a company August ii, i///, four days 
after the battalion. Captain Conrad Minnich is referred to^ 
as "of the Revolution, from Brunswick Township, near the 
Schuylkill, several miles south of Sharp Mountain, then the 
frontier,"-" and also notes Colonel Daniel Udree having six 
companies with a battalion of three hundred and one men 
around about Philadelphia, from August ii to December i, 
1777, and that eight thousand, nine hundred and seventy- 
seven men, from 1775 to 1782, were in service from Berks 
County. Captain Conrad Minnich's Company, mustered May 
17, 1777, and August 11, 1777, Colonel Udree and Colonel 
Lindemuth's battalions were mustered. Two records refer to 
Captain Minnich's Company as "Associators and Regulators" 
under Colonel Udree and two to Captain Conrad Minnich's 
second company, third battalion. Colonel Michael Lindemuth. 
The company serving twice under different commanders. 
John Stout, ensign ; John Graul, Phillip Boning, George Stout, 
Gideon Meyer, John Crawford, privates, are the only names 
of the company of fifty men recorded. 

Those who have made a study of the records in the 
Penna. Archives will appreciate the difficulty encountered 
in drawing a chronological order out of the records of the 
military, a logical sequence, in many cases being the only 
conclusion that can be arrived at. Of the fifty-three bat- 
talions of the Pennsylvania Associators only fragmentary 
records are given and these are frequent repetitions of each 
other and occur with slight additions or omissions, perhaps, 
in different volumes. The Continental Line in the War De- 
partment, Washington, D. C, is nearer completion but here 
also there are many imperfect records. The Militia com- 
panies went out several times, the time of service being lim- 



(Note 1 — Penna. Archives, 3rd Series, Vol. IV, p. 265.) 

(Note 2— 5th Series, Vol. V, pp. 128, 135, 190, 201 Penna. Archives.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 9i 

War of the Revolution 



ited to two months. Occasionally persons of the same name, 
in large families, enlisted during these various terms of ser- 
vice and to identify these properly other documents than the 
Archives must be called into requisition to endorse them.^ 

Of the officers and privates of the fifty-three battalions 
of the Associators of the Colony of Pennsylvania, July 4, 
T776, the following are of those closely associated with the 
localities of Berks and Schuylkill Counties, north and south 
of the Blue Mountains: 

First Battalion— Privates John Hartman, Peter Filbert. 
Second Battalion— Colonel, Mark Bird; Private, Benj, 
Tolbert. 

Third Battalion— Private, Henry Spoon, Private Mathias 
Wenrich. 

Fourth Battalion— Major Michael Lindemuth ; Private 
Michael Moser. 

Fifth Battalion — Col. John Patton. 
Sixth Battalion— Major Conrad Leffler.^ 
Seventh Battalion — Colonel Sebastian Levan. 
Major Martin Kergher (Kaercher) was of the third 
battalion under Colonel Michael Lindemuth. He lived in 
Windsor Township and was the ancestor of the Kaerchers, 
of Schuylkill County. 

Col. John Patton was the ancestor of the Pattons, of 
Barry Township, Schuylkill County, who removed from Berks 
County, south of the Blue Mountain, to what was then 
Northumberland County."' '' 

Col. Lindemuth's two sons served as substitute drummer 

(Note 1 — Pennsylvania Archives, Fifth Series, Vol. V.) 

(Note 2 — Conrad Lefifler, ancestor of William Leffler, deceased, Land- 
ingville; Aurelian Leffler, McKeesport; Uriah G. Leffler, Mechanicsville; 
Mrs. Mary Paul, Port Carbon; and indirectly connected with C. W. Wil- 
dermuth and others of Pottsville.) 

(Note 3— Vol. V, 5th Series, p. 262.) 

(Note 4 — Penna. Archives, 5th Series, 5th Vol., pp. 160-180.) 



92 BLUE BOOK OF 

War of the Revolution 



boys in Captain Rodermel's and Lieutenant Umbenhauer's 
Companies, for which they received forty-nine pounds. 

Berks County MiHtia, First Battalion: — Colonel, Daniel 
Hunter; Lieutenant Colonel, John Guldin ; Quartermaster, 
Isaac Feather. 

First Company — Captain, Mathias Wick ; Court Martial 
Men, John Pott, Jacob HefTner (ancestor of the late Samuel 
Heffner, of Pottsville. and his descendants), May 17, 1777. 

Third Company — Captain, Jacob Rothermel ; Lieutenant, 
Daniel Stout; Ensign, Christian Merkle. May 10, 1780. 

Fourth Company — Captain, George Focht ; Ensign, John 
Yoder. May 10, 1780. 

Fifth Company — Captain, Jacob Hill; First Lieutenant, 
George Schall. 

Sixth Company — Captain, Peter \\'anner (Werner) ; 
First Lieutenant, Henry Strauch. 

Seventh Company — Captain, George Beaver. May 10, 
1780. 

Detachment of First Battalion Berks County Militia, 
Captain Charles Krause, guarding prisoners, August 16 to 
October 16, 1781, thirty-five Privates: Caspar Merkle, Titan 
McCarty, Jacob Sigfried (Jacob Sigfried, ancestor of the 
Berks and Schuylkill County Sigfrieds.) 

Reber, Conrad — Captain George Miller's Co., on duty South 
Amboy, N. J., September 5, 1776.1 (Father of George 
Reber and grandfather of George, Jonathan and Daniel 
Reber, deceased, of Schuylkill County.) 
Ney, Valentine — Ney, Jacob ; Aulenbach, Daniel ; Swartz, 
John ; Loose, Jacob ; Mayer, Phillip, were other mem- 
bers of this company from that part of Berks County 
now included in Schuylkill.^ (Great grandfather of 
Daniel Ney, Friedensburg; Valentine Ney, buried in 
Summer Berg cemetery.) 

(Note 1— 5th Series, 5th Vol., p. 152.) 
(Note 2— Vol. V, p. 194.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 93 

War of the Revolution 



Orwig, Henry ; Fisher, George ; Fisher, Joseph — Colonel 
Michael Lindemtith certifies that they served out their 
time as substitutes, no company mentioned. They 
were from Brunswick Township (now Schuylkill 
County.) 

Beard, Adam — Captain Third Company, Third Battalion ; 
(grandfather of the late Michael Beard, and great 
grandfather of Captain Samuel and Attorney Herman 
Graefif, of Tamaqua, deceased.) 

Graefif, Daniel — Captain Fifth Company, Third Battalion, Ex- 
eter Twp. (ancestor of the Schuylkill County Graefifs.) 

Bechtel, Jacob — John, Peter and Henry were of this Bat- 
talion, and Judah and Moses Boone, Exeter Township 
(ancestors of Judah Boone, deceased, of Pottsville, and 
the Boones, of St. Clair.) 

Easterly (Esterly), Daniel — Captain Robinson's Company, 
Exeter Township, October, 1781. On list of Depreci- 
ated Pay (grandfather of the late Daniel Esterly, of 
Pottsville.) 

Kercher, John; (Kaercher), Kercher, Christian; First Com- 
pany, Third Battalion, Captain Krauss, return 1783. 
Henry Miller, of Longschwamp, Berks County, also on 
the roll.i 

Miller, Sebastian — Captain Seventh Company, (A class) ; 
Fourth Battalion; return May 31, 1781. John Reber, 
John Van Read, John Reasher (Reeser) and Adam 
Fulmer on the rolls.- 

Wolf, Michael — Captain of company on duty at South Amboy, 
N. J. August 26, 1776.3 Private Ludwig (Wendel) 
Swartz, McKeansburg. 



(Note 1 — Vol. 4, p. 257 Penna. Archives, 5th Series.) 
(Note 2~5th Series, 5th Vol., p. 262, Penna. Archives.) 
(Note 3— 5th Vol, pp. 158-170.) 



94 BLUE BOOK OF 

War of the Revolution 

Captain Diehl's Company, Berks County Militia, January 22, 
1777. Dallet Rhein and Pant Enge, from Pinegrove 
Township, Schuylkill County. 

Nagle, Phillip — A drummer boy in the War of the Revolution, 
was the grandfather of Colonel Daniel Nagle and the 
late General James and Captain Phillip Nagle, of Potts- 
ville. The Revolutionary soldier, Phillip and wife, are 
buried in the old cemetery in the rear of Trinity Luth- 
eran Church, Reading. (Simon and Phillip Nagle came 
from Rotterdam, October 16, 1751, ship Duke.) 

Nagle, George and Peter — Were Captains in the Continental 
Line. They were of a branch of the same family as the 
above, cousins, it is presumed. 

Schefifer, Nicholas — Captain of Company on duty at New 
Town, January 2, 1777. Includes on its muster roll: 

Huy (Hoy), John, Lieutenant; Abraham Hoy, Ensign. (An- 
cestors of Schuylkill County Hoys.) 

Gernandt, Mathias — (Ancestor of the Gernandts formerly of 
Orwigsburg and of Aaron Gernandt (Gernan), of 
Pottsville.) 

Kerschner, Conrad — Of Windsor Township, Berks County, 
(great grandfather of Mrs. A. J. Pilgram, Pottsville.) 

Rauhn, Jacob — Progenitor of the Charles Rahn family, of 
Pottsville (Part 2.) 

Matz, (jeorge, and Medler, George — Ancestors of old Schuyl- 
kill County families, are also on the roll of this com- 
pany.i 

Zwally, Captain — (9th class.) 

Schwaller, Christopher — From the return of the 7th class of 
Militia. Battalion Lancaster County Militia, Colonel, 
John Huber, under marching orders to Sunbury. 



(Note 1— 5th Series, 5th Vol.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 95 

War of the Revolution 



Zwally, Christopher— Believed to be the same man. Captain 
Duck's Company.^ ^ 
Other officers in the Berks County Militia were: 

Captain Daniel DeTurck— Mustered into service July, 
1776, with a muster roll of three commissioned and eight 
non commissioned officers, sixty-one men. He was the 
great grandfather of Samuel DeTurck, of Friedens- 
burg, deceased.3 Nicholas Scull, the surveyor of plats 
in Schuylkill and adjoining counties, and Frederick 
Fernsler, the great great grandfather of the Fernslers, 
of Pottsville, were members of this company. 

Captain Henry Strouch— x\ugust loth to September 9th, 
1780, 6th Battalion; of Brunswick, afterward Manheim 
Township; ancestor of the Strauchs, of Schuylkdl 

County. 
Captain Jacob Schartel— After whom Schartlesville, Berks 
County, was named, was the great grandfather of Al- 
bert, Harry and William Schertle, deceased, of Potts- 
ville. 
Captain Phillip Filbert's Co., December 13, 1777; 48 men, 9 
officers, Colonel Jacob Weaver, great grandfather of 
Attorney J. H. Filbert, of Schuylkill Haven, and an- 
cestor of the Filberts, of Pinegrove, and of P. K. Fil- 
bert, of Pottsville. 

Ensio-ns Henry Orwig, 2nd Company, 4th Battalion, 

Nicholas Leib and John Stout, all of whom have numerous 
descendants in Schuylkill County, Captain Frank Leib, of 
Harrisburg, and Ellwood Orwig, of Lansford, being among 
the number directly or indirectly connected. 

(Note 1— Vol. 7, pp. 890, 233, 891.) , „ , . 

(Note 2— Some of the above named spelled the name "Schwalm later, 
but their connection with the Berks County family cannot be traced.) 

(Note 3— Isaac DeTurck, born 1686, came from Northern France to 
Duchess County, New York, 1709, and to Oley Township, Berks County, 
Pennsylvania, 1721. He was the ancestor of Daniel DeTurck, who was 
the great grandfather of Samuel DeTurck.) 



96 BLUE BOOK OF 

War of the Revolution 



Lieutenants — Gernant, (Gannon), Phillip Spohn, Henry 

Focht. 

Seitzinger, Nicholas — Captain Charles Gobin's Company, 
September 9, 1780. 

Frederick Bensinger — Came to Brunswick Township, 1740, 
and lived in that vicinity. He was in the Revolutionary 
War, his name occurs on the pension list. His descend- 
ants reside in this county and in the western part of 
the State. A great granddaughter. Mrs. Jacob Olhau- 
sen, deceased. 

Peter Kutz, Anthony Roeder and Frederick Shaffer, from Pine- 
grove Township, now Wayne and Washington Town- 
ships, were Revolutionary soldiers. 

John Dollinger is buried in St. Peter's Lutheran and Reformed 
cemetery, Pinegrove. 

Jacob Reinhart, from Upper Mahantongo, now Eldred Town- 
ship, Revolutionary soldier, lived and died in that town- 
ship. 

Conrad Eisenhuth — Revolutionary soldier from Berks County, 
lived to the remarkable age of iii years. His son, Con- 
rad, died at 95. The former was the grandfather of 
A. C. Eisenhuth, of Orwigsburg, Schuylkill County. 

Peter Bock, Isaac Moser, Balthaser Borck, Andrew Burkes, 
Bernard Kepner, Phillip Schwartz, Henry Lutz, Henry 
Hoffman, Frederick Hettinger were in the Revolution- 
ary War from Brunswick Township (from the vicinity 
of McKeansburg.) There were five residents from the 
same locality in the War of 1812. 

The above are buried at Frieden's church, near New 
Ringgold and at McKeansburg. The first settlers came to 
that vicinity in 1740. They were Daniel, Jacob and Frederick 
Bensinger, Phillip Schwartz and John Kuehnle. They 
brought their families with them and named their settlement 



SCPIUYLKILL COUNTY 97 

War of the Revolution 



"Schmaltzdahl." Their lirst church was held in a log- school 
house and was known as "Friedens, unweit der kleinen Shool- 
kill, neben den Blauen Bergen, Braunschweig, Berks County." 
Ulrich Heiser and Abraham Seltzer came 1758; Bernard Kep- 
ner, 1769; Jacob Whetstone (Capt. of Company from Pine- 
grove Township), Andrew Bolich, Balzar Koch, Henry and 
Frederick Sassaman, in 1769-70. A tract of land was given, 
additional, 1768, when a new church was built. Part of this 
locality was in Northampton County until Schuylkill County 
was formed, 181 1. 

Jacob Shoemaker — Was born in New Jersey, 1760, and died at 
Bloomslnirg, Pa., 1840. He served throughout the entire 
Revolutionary War. His great grandson, William H. 
Shoemaker, of Shenandoah, was born in Pottsville, 1832. 

The list of these men is imperfect. There may be more, 
but enough have been given to refute the assertion fre- 
quently made, that "Schuylkill County was not represented, 
to any extent, in the War of the Revolution." 

It should be borne in mind that the locality known now 
as Schuylkill County was not changed, only its name. 

ZERBES IN THE COLONIAL, FRENCH AND INDIAN 
AND REVOLUTIONARY WARS 

The name Servi, Xavier, Servitz, Seriver, Serfas, Serfass, 
Service, Servey, Servier, Sevier, Zerfas, Zerfass, is the same 
as Sevier, Sarva or Zarva, in the original and many branches 
of the family who spelled the name phonetically as above, 
have adopted the "Zerbe," "Zerbee," "Zerby," "Zerbey," 
others retaining the original spelling. There are sixteen 
different methods of spelling the name, as is stated else- 
where. 



BLUE BOOK OF 
War of the Revolution 



The following occur in the Fifth Series Penna. Archives, 
which contains fifteen volumes, the sixteenth being an index: 
Serfas, Adam, 4th Vol., p. 344, Capt. Continental Line, 

List of Depreciated Pay. 
Serfas, Charles, Vol. 4, p. 344, Private, same. 
Serfas, Christian, Vol. 4, p. 664-672-357; Vol. 8, p. 203. 

Private, same. 
Serfas, Frederick, Vol. 8, p. 242-297. 
Serfas, Henry, Vol. 8, p. 113-448-562; Vol. 4, p. 357. 
Serfas, Jacob, Vol. 8, p. 577. 
Serfas, John, Vol. 4, p. 664 ; Vol. 8, p. 575. 
Serfass, Capt., Vol. 8, p. 96. 

Serfass, Adam, Vol. 8, p. 96, pp. 598-599-600, 48-109. 
Serfass, Christian, Vol. 8, p. 264. 
Serfass, Christian, Vol. 4, p. 344 ; Vol. 8, p. 306. 
Serfass, Frederick, Vol. 8, p. 283, 297, 596. 
Server, Daniel, Capt. John Slater's Co., Lancaster Co., ist 
Battalion Lancaster Militia. (Daniel Zcrbe, son of John 
Zerbe, the miller and brother to Benjamin, who set- 
tled in Pinegrove Twp. — Zerbe History.) 
Server, Jacob, received depreciation pay. (Original rolls.) 
Continental Line. Jacob was a son of John Zerbe, 
wife Catharine Stup. He went early to Cumberland 
County. Christian Zerbe, who married Christina 
Strauss, was a brother.) (Vol. 6, pp. 556, 553, 577.) 
Servier, Phillip — Cumberland Company, same county. Vol. 4. 
p. 638. ^ 
The U. S. paid the army in depreciated money, (shin 
plasters). This currency became lower and lower in value, 
the Tory sympathizers buying it up in quantities to still fur- 
ther reduce the credit of the government. The Legislature 
of Pennsylvania passed an Act to pay from the resources of 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 99 

War of the Revolution 



the State treasury the balance, and all Penna. soldiers were 
paid off at par by the State. This was called the "Depre- 
ciation Pay," hence the lists. 
Servise, John, Capt. Nicholas Saltmier, May i, 1777. Vol. 3, 

p. 89. 
Service, John — Capt. James Dunn's Co., Chester Co. Asso- 
ciators and Militia, 8th Battalion, Col. Patterson Bell. 
Service, John — Capt. Gilbert Gibbs, Chester County, June 18, 

1777. Militia of foot. Col. John Hannum. 
Serf ass, John — Vol. 8, p. 282, 493. 
Serfass, William, Vol. 8, p. 282, 306. 

Servey, Peter — Vol. 2, p. 109, Capt. Huling's Co., Jan. 5, 
1776; Nov. 25, 1776; Commissioned, Col. Arthur St. 
Clair, furloughed from Oct. 1776, by Gen. Gates, Con- 
tinental Line. (Son of George Peter Zerbe, Zerbe His- 
tory.) 
Service, John — Vol. 4, p. 963; Vol. 5, p. 809, 817. 
Service, James — Vol. 4, p. 963. 

Servis, Jacob — Vol. i, p. 302. Detachment Penna. Regt. in 
Garrison at Fort Bedford under Col. Jos. Shippen, 
Jan. 24, 1760. Capt. Hambright's Co. 
Surver, Phillip — Vol. 6, p. 556-564. 
Surver, Adam — Vol. 8, p. 575. 
Servise, John — Vol. 3, p. 1025. 

Server, Abraham (8th Vol., p. 222.) Capt. Jacob Heller, two 
months tour of duty, from around Allentown, North- 
ampton County. 8th Co., Capt. John Santee. 
Server, Daniel — 7th Vol., p. 4, 245. 
Server, Jacob — 4th Vol., p. 333 ; 6th Vol., p. 332-563. 
Server, Phillip — 4th Vol., p. 630; 6th Vol., p. 563-630. 
Serves, Henry — 8th Vol., p. 306. 

Serfass, Christian — Same company from Northampton Co., 
same. 



100 BLUE BOOK OF 

War of the Revolution 



Servey, John — Private Continental Line, Northumberland Co. 

Vol. 4, p. 379, p. 693. 
(From lists of soldiers who received depreciation pay, and 
also from a manuscript record, no date, headed "Rangers on 
the Frontiers.") 

Note — In addition to the Depreciation pay the Pennsyl- 
vania Legislature passed an zVct entitling each soldier from 
this State, in the regular service of the Revolutionary War, 
to 200 acres of land. The officers were graded accordingly, 
a Major General receiving three thousand acres. There were 
no homestead laws attached to the bill and the greater part 
of the land fell into the hands of unscrupulous land specula- 
tors who bought up the bulk of the grant as low as fifty cents 
per acre. 
Servey, Benjamin — Private, Capt. Benjamin Weiser's Co. of 

the German Regiment, of the General Battalion. 
Zerbe, Benjamin (the same, enlisted twice) — Continental 

troupes commanded by Colonel Nicholas Hausseg- 

ger, in the service of the United Colonies, in 

barracks, Phila., Oct. 3, 1776. Enlisted July 19, 1776; 

Dec. 3, 1776. The Penna. German Regt. Berks County. 

Court Martial Man, Vol. 3, p. 793. (Son of John Zerbe, 

the miller), (Zerbe History). Court Martial Man 

ranked next to Ensign. 
Serven, William — Enlisted Dec. 10, 1776; killed Oct. 4, 1781. 

Col. Hazen's Regt. Penna. Continental X-ine. Vol. 3, 

p. 780. Vol. 4, pp. 357-672. 
Service, Thomas — Private, Capt. Charles McHenry, 5th 

Penna. Regt., Continental Line, Sept. 9, 1778. 
Service, Thomas — Was in McHenry's Company to August, 

1778, and afterward in Col. Richard Butler's Company. 
Sarvas, John — Private 5th Penna. Regt., Continental Line, 

January 17, 1781. Vol. 5, p. 89. 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY loi 

War of the Revolution 

Service, Thomas — Private, Capt. John Barclay, 5th Penna. 

Infantry in service U. S., Col. F. Johnstone, Comman- 
der, April, 1780. Vol. 3, p. 62. 
Service, Thomas — Private, Capt. John Lacy, 1778; enlisted 

January i, 1777, Capt. Alex. Johnstone, in service U. S. 

5th Penna. Regt. Col. F. Johnstone Regt. Continental 

Line, April 30, 1776. 
Servits, George — Capt. John Gragery, Col. Nicholas Kerns, 

Northumberland Co., April 22, 1782. Vol. 8, p. 493. 

From list of "Depreciated Pay," Vol. 4, p. 344. 
Service, Thomas — Private, Capt. John Lacy's Co. January 5, 

1776 to January 9, 1778. Fourth Penna. Battalion, Col. 

Anthony Wayne. Vol. 2, p. 150. 
Serfass, John — Capt. John Gregory, Col. Nicholas Kerns, for 

the year 1782, April 22, from Northampton Co., Vol. 

8, p. 493. 
It should be borne in mind that the early magistrates 
were phonetic spellers. Many of the early settlers, the French 
and German, had little or no knowledge of English, and had 
not decided upon perfect translations of their names into that 
language. They spelled by sound. Of these were the Zerbes. 
Others took the meaning of their names and changed them, as 
Hunter, Stone, etc., which differed widely from the names in 
the original pronunciations and spelling. 
Servey, John — 4th Vol., p. 369-693-379, Northumberland Co. 

Militia. Private in Continental Line. 
Servas, John — Served as a private in Capt. Byles Co., 3rd 

Penna. Regt., in Revolutionary War and that he was 

paid to September i, 1776, 3 pounds, 15 shillings for 

service. 
Serva, John — Private, John Mull's Company, same battalion 

commanded by Col. Peter Hosterman, on duty for 16 

days, from April to July, 1779. 



102 BLUE BOOK OF 

War of the Revolution 

Servy, John — Private, Capt. John Black's Company, same bat- 
talion from October 9 to October 28, 1779. 

The above three are from the records of the War Dept., 
Adj. General's Office, Washington, D. C, January 4, 1912. 

(There were in 1736 three John Zerbes in Berks County. 
Owing to the custom of naming one son after the father, to 
perpetuate the name, this number of Johns had doubled at 
least until 1776. Those too, who migrated to Northumber- 
land and Northampton County, also had Johns ; they were, 
however, all related and first cousins, except the descendants 
of one of that name, who were of the second degree. The 
record from the War Department states, that, "as the term 
of all Militia men was not longer than two months, the same 
men returned several times under other, or the same com- 
mands and the records often refer to the same man," hence, 
the duplication of names.) 

Servitz, Joseph — Private Capt. George Shriver's 3d Co., 7th 
class, Northumberland Co., Vol. 8, p. 357. 

Sarby, George — George Peter Zerbe, son of Martin Zerbe. 
Private, Independent Troop of Horse, Phila. County, 
1756. Capt. Edward Jones, Vol. i, p. 50, French and 
Indian War. They were of the 3d Battalion and were 
known as the Augusta Regiment. 

Martin and John Phillip Zerbe (Zerbe History, brothers, 
were in Queen Anne's War, 171 1. (Part i and 2.) 

Seriver, George — Capt. John Patton, 7th Co., 6th Battalion, 
Col. Jas. Taylor, Lancaster Co. From the original mus- 
ter rolls, public records, Harrisburg, April 15, 1783. 
Vol. 7, p. 619. (Son of George Peter Zerbe, Zerbe 
History.) 

Zehrfass, Capt. — Vol. 8, p. 590; Vol. 6, p. 216. 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 103 

War of the Revolution 



Zehrfass, Abraham— Vol. 7, p. 245-312.1 

Zarban, John — Private in Capt. Weaver's Co., same battalion, 

Berks County, from April 5, 1779, for a period of 22 days. 

(Son of George Peter Zerbe — Zerbe's History.) 
Zerben, George — 3d Series, Vol. 6, pp. 32i-'22. Accounts Capt. 

Phillip Filbert's Co. (8th class.) 39 pounds. (Son of 

John Zerbe, the miller — Zerbe History.) 

Zerbe, Leonard — 5th Vol., p. 230. Ensign, Company 8, 5th 
Battalion, May 17, 1777. 3rd Series, Vol. 6, pp. 32i-'22. 
6th Battalion, 4th Co., Heidelberg, Capt. Phillip Fil- 
bert. (Son of John Zerbe, the miller — Zerbe History.) 
(Sworn in by Peter Spyker, Justice, with 778 others. 
Total number enrolled, 1778.) 

Zerben, Michael — 3rd Series, Vol. 6, pp. 22-38. 2nd Sergt., 
Capt. George Miller's Co., from Bethel and Tulpe- 
hocken Townships. 29 men, 4 officers. Mustered De- 
cember 13, 1777. On duty at South Amboy, N. J. (Son 
of George Peter Zerbe — Zerbe History. Sept. 5, 1776. 
5th Series, Vol. 5, p. 152.) Four thousand and fifty- 
eight men. 

Zerban, Michael — Account of Capt. Weaver's Co. 4th class. 
8 pounds. Vol. 5, p. 151, 152. (Son of John Jacob 
Zerbe, Bethel Township.) 

Zerbe, Christian — Capt. Phillip Filbert's Co. Series 3, Vol. 6, 
p. 322. 

All of the above occur in the Fifth Series, Penna. Ar- 
chives, unless otherwise credited. The Pennsylvania Militia 
all served several tours of field duty, but only a few of the 
company lists have been preserved. The new Fifth Series of 



(Note 1 — There are many references throughout the 5th Series to the 
name spelled as above, but as the Christian name is the same as those 
previously given, spelled with an "S" instead of "Z", for the surname, it is 
believed that they are in most instances correlative.) 



104 BLUE BOOK OF 

War of the Revolution 

fifteen volvimes, the sixteenth being the index, contains nearly 
all of the Pennsylvania Revolutionary records that have been 
found up to 1906. 

BERKS AND SCHUYLKILL IN REVOLUTION 

Those included in the following list are from Volume 
Five, Fifth Series, Pennsylvania Archives. 
Baker, David — Second Lieutenant, Capt. George Miller's Co. 

On duty South Amboy, N. J., September 5, 1776. 

(Wife, Elizabeth, daughter of Peter Zerbe and Eliza- 
beth Loucks.) 
Gruber, Christian — Ensign, 6th Co., 2nd Battalion, Class A. 

May 10, 1780. Vol. 5, p. 183. 
Gruber, Christian — First Co., 6th Battalion Lancaster County 

Militia, 1783. Vol. 7, p. 609. 
Gruber, George — List of "Depreciated Pay," Vol. 4, p. 495. 
Gruber, Valentine — Served in Capt. Rieff's Co., December 11, 

1777 — February 6, 1778. 
Gruber, AUirecht — Capt. Conrad Shirman's Co., 6 Bat., Aug. 

10, 1780. 
Reber, Conrad — Capt. George Miller's Co., September 5, 1776. 

(Vol. 5, p. 152.) (Miller-Reber Plistory, Part IIL) 
Reber, Michael — Capt. Baldy's Co., Militia, September 9, 

1780. 
(Note) — The name Staudt occurs more than one hun- 
dred times in the Sth Series Penna. Archives. It would seem 
that any one of that name in the United States, who can 
prove the chronological order of descent, may find among the 
names of those mentioned an early ancestor. 

The Stoudts (Staudts) were nimicrous in the Revolu- 
tionary War. Among those from Berks and Schuylkill Coun- 
ties are the following : The name Staudt is variously spelled. 
Stout, George — Ensign, Capt. Jacob Kremer's Co., Co. 7, (A 

class), 6 Bat., May 17, 1777. 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 105 

War of the Revolution 

Stout, Daniel — Sergt. Jacob Baldy's Co., August 10, 1780. 
Stout, Daniel — Capt. Phillip Filbert's Co., 5 Vol., p. 183. 
Stup, John — Capt. Conrad Sherman (brother of Catharine 

Stup, wife of John Zerbe), Vol. 5, p. 41. 
Stout, John— Sergt. Capt. Daniel Riefif's Co., Feb. 6, 1778. 
Swartz, Christian — Capt. Jacob Ladig's Co., Oct. i, 1781, 

(brother of Wendel Swartz, married to Eva, daughter 

of George Zerbe.) 
Stout, John — Capt. Conrad Minnich's Co., May 17, 1777; 3rd 

Bat., Col. Michael Lindemuth. 
Stout, John — Ensign, May 10, 1780, Capt. Anthony Schra- 

der's 3d Co., 5th Battalion, (brother of Elizabeth 

Stout, married to Andrew Miller.) 
Stout, Daniel — Lieut., May 10, 1780. 
Stout, John — Sergt. Capt. Daniel Rieff's Co., Dec, 1777; 

Jan., 1778; in camp thirty and a half miles below Read- 
ing. 
Stout, Joseph — Shipmaster, Lucia Packet, 1762-1776. 
Stout, Capt.— Fifth Series, Vol. 3, pp. 534, 568, 574, 575, 582. 
Swartz, Jacob — List of Depreciated Pay, Vol. 4, p. 495. 
Stout, Abraham — Vol. 5, p. 442. 
Stout, Daniel — Vol. 5, pp. 373, 378, 167, 234; Vol. 7, p. 766. 

(Those above, credited as coming from Lancaster Coun- 
ty, lived in Heidelberg Township, near the line dividing Berks 
and Lancaster Counties. They were in Lancaster County 
prior to 1752, when part of Heidelberg was legislated to 
remain in that county. Families in Berks County, near the 
line, were closely identified with their friends and neighbors 
on the other side who had not changed their locality but the 
name.) 

The name Merkle under various spellings occurs about 
eighty times in the Penna. Archives. The Merkles were very 
numerous in the Revolutionary War. There are also one 
hundred and sixty mentions of this name in the old Moselem 



io6 BLUE BOOK OF 

War of the Revolution 



Church records, Richmond Twp., Berks County. (Pennsyl- 
vania Genealogical Society, Philadelphia), (Fifth Series 

Penna. Archives, 5th Vol., p. 183.) 

Merkle, Jacob — Capt. John Fulmer's Co., Wayne Township, 
formerly Manheim (Berks), Schuylkill County. 

Merkle, Caspar— Capt. Phillip Filbert's Co., Vol. 5, p. 183. 

Markle (Merky), Jc^hn — Capt. John Fulmer's Co. (Same). 

Merkle, Abraham — 1781, 5th Vol., p. 185. 

Merkle, Nicholas — 

Mercklin — Vol. 6, pp. 240, 246. 

Merckle — Vol. 8, pp. 195, 210. 

Merckling- — Vol. 6, pp. 240-246. 

Merkle — Vol. 5, p. 211. 

Merkly — Vol. 4, p. 252. 

Merkle, Bernhard — Capt. Baldy's Co., Sept. 9, 1780. 

Merkle, George — Capt. Peter Nagle's Co. 

Merkle, Christian, Jr. — Capt. Jacob Ladig's Co. 

Merkle, John — Capt. Jacob Ladig's Co., October i, 1781. 

Merkle, Christian — Ensign, 5th Co., May 10, 1780, 3rd Co., 
and 1st Bat. from Trappe. 

Marckle, Abraham — Independent troop of horse, Phila., 1756. 

Marckle, Michael— Vol. 3, p. 855, Capt. of the Light Dra- 
goons, came from France with Lafayette and belonged 
to the Independent corps, Cavalry and Foot, December 
ber 28, 1778. 

Merkle, Merkel, Merclin, Marckle. Part 2. 

THE RIETHS AND THEIR RECORDS 

Rieth, Michael — Capt. John Pluling's Co., Commissioned 
January 5, 1776; November 25, 1776. Furloughed from 
October, 1776, by Gen. Gates, Continental Line. Vol. 
2, p. 109. 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 107 

War of the Revolution 



Rieth, \^alentine, Jacob, Phillip, Adam, Caspar, Peter, Chris- 
tian, John, Samuel, (Jeorg-e, Daniel, Michael, Frederick. 
— The name Rieth is now spelled Reed, Ried and Read. 
There were fourteen of that name in the Revolutionary 
War, all sons of the two who came from the Palatinate, 
1710, and settled in the Schoharie, subsequently remov- 
ing to the Tulpehocken, 1723. The two former were 
ensigns. Jacob died 1821, Valentine, 1825, 75 and 76 
years old : both are buried in Rieth's cemetery, Stouchs- 
burg, Berks County. 
Rieth, Leonard — 2d Series, Vol. 3, p. 23, List of Officers, 
Re^-. War, Berks County, \^^agon Master, Jan. 8, 1778. 
Col. Henry Haller, Reading, held same position Feb. 
25, 1778. Vol. 3, p. 23. (Leonard, son of George Rieth, 
wife, Anna Maria, daughter of George Peter Zerbe — 
Zerbe History.) 
Rieth, John (Johannes) Was from Pinegrove Township. 
Fie was a brother of Leonard Rieth. 
(Note — In the latter part of July, 1777, in anticipation of 
an invasion by the British, under Gen. Howe, the Executive 
Council secured wagons to remove the public records, at 
Philadelphia, to a place of safety and to assist the families 
of the inhabitants to remove, with the aid of the militia men. 
The President of the Executive Council ordered three hun- 
dred and fifty wagons from the Lieutenant of Berks County. 
Col. Jacob Morgan made the requisition according to the 
number of taxables. The Continental Congressional Records 
and Treasury were moved to Lancaster and Congress met 
there on the 27th of July. After the enemy left. October 17, 
1777, only twenty of the three hundred and fifty wagons were 
retained.) 

FAMILY TRADITIONS 

Two incidents, in which members of the Rieth family 
participated, may prove interesting to others than those who 
have preserved the traditions. 



io8 BLUE BOOK OF 

War of the Revolution 

In 1793 when General George Washington visited Wom- 
elsdorf, he expressed a desire to see the tomb of Conrad 
AVeiser and asked to be accompanied thither by three of his 
old body guard who had come to do honor to their old com- 
mander-in-chief. Christopher Lechner, Jacob and Valentine 
Rieth responded and spent an hour in his company. General 
Washington knelt at the lonely farmside grave for a brief 
prayer for his former comrade in arms. (Conrad Weiser's 
tomb is noted elsewhere.) 

On another occasion General W^ashington had met some 
of his officers, for a conference, at the old tavern at Valley 
Forge. He came out of the hotel rather hastily, unattended. 
Leonard Rieth, who was loitering outside, seeing his predica- 
ment rushed to his assistance and acted as aid-de-camp, or 
orderly, holding his horse and adjusting his cloak and stirrups, 
Washington apparently not noticing the omission on the part 
of his regular attendant. 

GEORGE WASHINGTON SPOKE PENNSYLVANIA 

GERMAN 

Phillip Schwartz lived in the vicinity of what is now 
McKeansburg, with the earliest settlers prior to 1776. After 
the battle of Trenton, in which the Pennsylvania Germans 
saved the day for their redoubtable leader, Washington re- 
ported that the term of service of many having expired, that 
one-half of the men capable of bearing arms should be called 
into the field. The order was made October 17, 1777, and 
January, 1778, one hundred and fifty men were recruited from 
Berks County, Phillip Schwartz, of Brunswick Township, was 
one of the numlier, but prior to this an interesting little epi- 
sode occurred which has been handed down among the remi- 
niscenses of the family. 

When Schwartz heard that he was wanted he said : "I 
will go, but I must see General Washington first." Schwartz 
rode to Washington's headquarters on one of a handsome 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 109 

War of the Revolution 



pair of black colts, that he had spent much time and care 
upon in raising and that were the pride of his heart. Upon 
inquiring of the sentry for General Washington he was ad- 
mitted to his presence only upon the plea of most urgent 
business. ("Ich muss e' in sehnen.") 

Schwartz then related to the great commander in the 
reigning vernacular, that "He wanted to go to the field before, 
he would go now but there was no one home but his wife 
and the children. They could manage the farm but they 
could not care for the colts, they needed his care, they would 
die without him." 

Washington went out and inspected the handsome horse 
and then said, 

"Cum yusht ! W^ier bezallen dich fier die guile was sie 
ward sin." 

Phillip Schwartz went home, brought the remaining colt 
and received his pay for the pair and served his full time. 
The horses were used for mounts for the officers and to the 
end of his time, Schwartz died about 1840, he related this 
story. He was very proud of his service in the struggle for 
freedom and on Battalion Day, or any great political or other 
celebration, in Orwigsburg, in which the military participated, 
old Phillip Schwartz appeared in his Continental uniform, sat 
upon the platform and was made one of the Vice Presidents 
of the meeting or an honorary member of a committee. His 
grandsons were, Joseph and Edward Schwartz, well known 
citizens of Schuylkill County. 

THE WAR OF i8i2-'i4 

On the 3d of June, 1812, the United States declared war 
against Great Britain. Hostilities began, with England, as 
early as June, 1807, when the French and British govern- 
ments ordered the seizure and confiscation of American ships, 
on the high seas, in utter defiance of the rights of neutrals 



no BLUE BOOK OF 

War of 1812-14 

and when hundreds of American sailors were impressed into 
the royal navy on the pretence that they were deserters from 
the English forces and her ships of war. The Indians of the 
northwestern frontier, instigated by British emissaries, at- 
tacked the frontier settlements and an invasion of Canada 
was undertaken by the Americans, in 1812. The successes of 
the American navy, including the Great Lake's fleet, far out- 
balanced the defeats of the forces by land. The campaign of 
1814 was more important. After a series of victorious ma- 
neuvers in New York and on Lake Champlain, the American 
forces repulsed the British, who lost their fleet and 2,500 men. 
In the summer of 1814, a British fleet landed a force of sev- 
eral thousand men on Chesapeake Bay, under General Ross, 
who advanced upon Washington, burning the capitol, the 
President's House and the several executive buildings of the 
government. After the defeat of the British at New Orleans, 
a treaty for peace was signed at Ghent, December 24, 1814. 

(Note — The city of Washington was founded, 1790, by 
the first President of the United States, whose name it bears. 
It became the seat of the Federal government in 1800. The 
delegates from the original twelve colonies, fifty-five in num- 
ber, met in Philadelphia, September 5, 1774. The second 
Congress met May 10, 1775, and issued the Declaration of 
Independence, July 4, 1776. The Congress removed to Bal- 
timore toward the end of that year. The first Congress of the 
United States met in New York in 1789, its sittings were 
transferred to Philadelphia in 1790, and were removed to 
Washington in 1800.) 

Lancaster, Pennsylvania, county seat of a southeastern 
county of the same name, adjoining the Maryland line, was the 
seat of the State government from 1799 to 1812. Many valua- 
ble records were burned here, too, by the destruction of the 
court house, 1828, by fire. 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY iii 

War of 1812-14 

SOLDIERS IN WAR OF 1812-1814 FROM SCHUYLKILL 

COUNTY 

Captain John Barr — Tavern-keeper, Pinegrove. 

Michael Fritz — Substitute for Jonathan Seidel, Friedensburg. 

(Father of E. J. Fritz and Mrs. J. K. Baker, of Potts- 

ville.) 
Samuel B. Riland — Friedensburg. 
John Aulenbach — Friedensburg. 
Jacob Mennig — F'riedensburg (father of Edward Mennig, of 

Pottsville.) 
Adam Snyder — Friedensburg. 

George Lerch — Friedensburg — First Defenders — 1812. 
Daniel Kaercher — Friedensburg. (Grandfather of Samuel B., 

Edward and Daniel Kaercher, Pottsville.) 
John R. Bannan — Pottsville. 
Burd Patterson — Pottsville. 
Benjamin Pott — Pottsville. 
Daniel Christian — Pottsville, (drummer boy). 
Charles Siegfried — Pottsville. (Grandfather of George Filer, 

Mrs. K. C. Wilson, the Rehrs and others, of Pottsville.) 
David Maurer — Pottsville. 

Christopher Loeser — f'ottsville. (Father of Mrs. Sarah Bris- 
coe, Mrs. F. P. Dewees, and uncle of Charlemagne 

Tower.) 
Andrew Achey — Pottsville. 
Henry Fidler — Pottsville. 
Conrad Roeder — Pottsville. (The Roeders were among the 

first butchers of Pottsville, and highly respected.) 
Caspar Roeder, Pottsville. 
Peter Dinger — Pottsville. 
George Dinger — Pottsville. 
George Deidrich — Pottsville. 
John Schoup — Pottsville. 
John Kessler — Pottsville. ;j 



112 BLUE BOOK OF 

War of 1812-14 

Peter Bressler — Lower Mahantongo Tvvp. 

Jonathan Bressler — Now Plegins TAvp. 

John Sterner — Manheim and Pinegrove Twps., native of Long 

Swamp, Berks Co. (Father of Charles B. Sterner, Potts- 

ville.) 
Phillip Staller — Wayne Twp. 
Henry Heckaman — (Father of Sarah Heckaman, of Stouchs- 

burg, Berks Co., and grandfather of the wife of Capt. 

W. F. Stitzer, of Schuylkill Haven.) 
Peter Starr — Branch Twp. 
George Hoerner — Lower Mahantongo Twp. (Father of Mrs. 

Ernest Nichol, dec'd, of Pottsville.) 
John Kawl — Now Hubley. 
Ludwig Shott — Berks Co. (Grandfather of Dr. C. Lenker, 

Sch. Haven.) 
Phillip Snyder — From Mohrsville, Berks Co. (Grandfather of 

Henry B. Snyder, of Mahanoy Plane, Schuylkill Co.) 
John Hummel — Berks Co., 1776, (Grandfather of Hon. Ed- 
ward Hummel, Pinegrove.) 
Peter Aurand — Berks Co. (Father of Aquilla Aurand, of Ta- 

maqua.) 
Jacob Heisler — East Brunswick Twp. 
Jacob Waltz, East Brunswick Twp. 
George Moyer — East Brunswick Twp. 
Capt. John Christian — East Brunswick Twp. 
Rev. John Stein — East Pinegrove Twp. 



(Rev. John Stein, son of John Stein and wife, Susanna Eckles, born 
two miles north of Pinegrove, July 17, 1794. He preached in many 
Lutheran churches in Schuylkill and Lebanon counties, among them 
Jacob's church, Pinegrove Twp.) 

(The Christians of Pottsville have good military records in all of 
the wars since 1812. John, Michael and Daniel came to Cumru Township, 
Berks County, from Switzerland, about 1780. The latter went to Mary- 
land and settled. Michael was the ancestor of the Berks County branch. 
John settled north of the Blue Mountains and was the head of all of that 
name in Schuylkill County. Capt. John Christian was the father of Wm. 
Christian, father of C. & L policeman Capt. Daniel Christian. Other sons 
were Jacob and Benjamin, of Pottsville.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 

War of 1812-14 



113 



RECORDS FROM TOMBSTONES 

St. Peter's Lutheran and Reformed Cemetery — Jonathan 
Bonavitz, Benjamin Bonavitz, John Bonavitz, John Boyer, 
Dr. Jacob Christ, Henry P2ckler, Jacob Lehman, Daniel Um- 
benhen, Henry Zimmerman. 

St. John's Lutheran, Pinegrove — Henry Conrad, John 
Barr, Peter Filbert, Daniel Kitzmiller. 

Hetzel's Church — Phillip Zerbe, 1812; Joseph Zerbe, 
1861 ; John Zerbe, 1861 ; John Hummel, 1812. 

St. Jacob's, Swatara Valley — John Ream, Adam Reed, Ja- 
cob Spancake, 181 2, 1861. 

St. Paul's Evangelical, Pinegrove — Henry Reinoehl. 

(Pension list, soldiers in the War of 1812, Penna. Archives, 6th Series, 
Vo. 9, pp. 408, 505, 603.) 




114 BLUE BOOK OF 

Mexican War 



Mexican War 



Schuylkill County Represented 



I'HERE had been a constant friction between Mexico and 
W^ the United States prior to the admission of Texas into 
^' the Union. 

The Mexicans imprisoned Americans, seized their ships 
and confiscated their goods. In 183 1 this country concluded a 
treaty of commerce with Mexico, which was frequently vio- 
lated and the Americans retaliated by assisting Texas to be- 
come an independent State. Ten years later, March i, 1845, 
Texas was added to the United States, and a declaration of 
war followed. November i, 1846, Governor Shunk issued a 
call for volunteers which was immediately responded to by 
two regiments of infantry from Pennsylvania. Schuylkill 
County responded with the Washington Artillery, now Co. F, 
of Pottsville, Fourth Regiment, National Guard of Pennsyl- 
vania. November 30, 1846, the company reported at Phila- 
delphia, joining six companies from that city, two from Pitts- 
burg and one from Wilkes-Barre. Peace was concluded after 
a strenuous warfare of not quite two years and the Pennsylva- 
nia infantry disbanded in Philadelphia, July 24, 1848. 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 115 

Mexican War 



Muster Roll of Co. B, ist Regt., Pa. Vols., War With Mexico. 
December 5, 1846 

(From copy in possession of Col. Daniel Nagle, Pottsville, Pa.) 

OFFICERS 

Captain, James Nagle, age 25 years, Pottsville 

ist Lieut., Simon S. Nagle, " 25 " " 

2nd Lieut., Franklin B. Kaercher " 25 

3rd Lieut., Jacob Fellnagle, " 20 

1st Sergt., Edward Rehr, " 32 " " 

2nd Sergt., William S. Nagle, " 20 

3rd Sergt., Edward Kaercher, " 21 *' 

4th Sergt., J. L. McMicken, " 24 

1st Corporal, Enos Zentmyer, " 25 " 

2nd Corporal, David Llewellyn, " 22 " " 

(On way to New Orleans) 

3rd Corporal, J. Egbert Farnum, " 23 " " 

4th Corporal, Edward W. Masson, " 25 " " 

ist Musician, Daniel Nagle, Drummer, " 18 " " 

2nd Musician, Reuben Stamm, Fifer, " 23 " " 

PRIVATES 

William C. Boland, Pottsville 

Charles Scrimshaw, " 23 

Daniel Shappell,, " 36 " 

Elias Shelly, " 26 

Emanuel Shelly, " 26 

A. H. Berger, 

Nelson Berger, " 

Henry Smink, " 2,7 " " 

George Seitzinger, " 27 " " 

William Seitzinger, " 40 " " 

John Stegner, " 29 



ii6 



BLUE BOOK OF 
Mexican War 



John Shuster, 


^§ 


e 22 


years, 


Pottsville 


(Discharged at Perote Castle, 










January 7th, 1847.) 










Jacob W. Shoub, 


<( 


22 


<( 


(( 


Michael Sands, 


It 


22 


(( 


(( 


(Left at New Orleans, January 










15th, 1847.) 










James Sands, 


i( 


25 


(( 


cc 


Robert H. Savage, 


<< 


28 


« 


(( 


(Left at New Orleans, January 










1 2th, 1847. 










Samuel Shadman, 


<< 


22 


<< 


« 


Henry Fisher, 


<( 


21 


<( 


« 


George W. Garrett, 


<( 


24 


(( 


« 


John C. Gilman, 


<< 


34 


a 


(( 


Thomas W. Guthrie, 


" 


21 


<( 


(( 


(Discharged at Vera Cruz.) 










Elias F. Hiney, 


(( 


26 


<< 


(( 


John Hays, 


<< 


22 


<( 


« 


Peter Hass, 


« 


26 


« 


« 


William H. Hatcheley, 


(( 


25 


(( 


<c 


John Jennings, 


<( 


24 


(( 


it 


(Left at New Orleans, January 










1 2th, 1847.) 










Elias Kelly, 


(( 


26 


(< 


<( 


(Discharged at Vera Cruz, 










March 17, 1847.) 










John Kepply, 


(( 


28 






<c 


Singleton Kimmel, 


<< 


22 






<( 


Michael Lust, 


(( 


37 






(( 


William Tyson, 


(< 


24 






(( 


Abel B. Macy, 


<( 


28 






(( 


Alexander McDonald, 


(( 


22 






(( 


Ferdinand Mammerank, 


(( 


20 






C( 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY "7 
Mexican War 



John Mooney, age 21 years, Pottsville 

(Left sick at Pittsburg, De- 
cember 2 1 St, 1846.) 

John Myers, ^^ ^^ 

Samuel McLaughlin, " 35 

(Discharged at Vera Cruz, 

April 2nd, 1847.) 

Thomas Simpson, ^o 

(Left in Mexico.) 

Robert F. Walter, " 26 

Gottloeb Wishue, 22 

Robert Welsh, '| 22 

William Wolfinger, " 22 

William Witecomb, " 25 

Owen D. Thomas " 29 

Andrew Stamm, ^" 

(( 

John Douty, 

(Killed at San Angel, by Mex- 
ican Greaser in ambush.) 

Joel Metz, 

ii " <' 

Tames H. Ruckel, 23 

David Jones, 22 

(Discharged at Vera Cruz, 

April, 1847.) 

a <' << 

Benjamin Shell, 20 

. i< '< <' 

Benjamin Smith, 20 

(Died at Perote Castle, 

June 29th, 1847.) 

Augustus H. Boyer, "21 

Bernard Barr, ' 32 

Valentine K. Mills, " 30 

(Died at Perote Castle, Au- 
gust 8th, 1847.) 



ii8 



BLUE BOOK OF 
Mexican War 



23 




22 


<( << 


19 


" Philadelphia 


22 


(1 it 


26 


(< « 



A\'illiam Merkle, age 25 years, Pottsville 

(Killed by Mexican Greaser in 

ambush at San Angel, about 

August 1.) 
Benjamin Nagle, " 26 " " 

(Died at San Angel, Mexico.) 
John M. Nolan, " 24 

Francis M. Wynkoop, " 28 

(Elected Colonel from the ranks 

at Pittsburg.) 
Francis C. McGeen, 
Henry Richards, 
John Hand, 
Thomas W. Guthrie, 
Henry Graeff, 

(Died at Jalapa, Mexico.) 
Patrick H. McElroy, " 23 " Pittsburg 

(Left January 5, 1847, at New 

Orleans.) 
Joshua Jenkins, " 24 " " 

Thomas Quiddington, . " 42 

John McCormick, " 19 

William Hines, " 20 

Thomas J. Gilpin, " 

Mahlon A. Frascr, age 25 years, New Orleans. (Left at 

Vera Cruz, April 8th, 1847.) 
William Knockhouse, age 22 years, Schuylkill Haven. 
William H. Stackpole, age 21 years, Waynesburg. 

Samuel Montgomery, age 22 years, Waynesburg. (Died at 
Perote Castle, August 26th, 1847.) 

James H. Ross, age 20 years, Waynesburg. 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 119 

Mexican War 

Levi Bright, age 30 years, Reading. (Lost on march from 

Pueblo to Perote.) 
Charles Seagraves, age 22 years, Reading. 
George W. Hesser, aged 27 years, McVeytown. 
Seth Price, age 26 years, Orwigsburg. 
Edward Robins, age 21 years. Port Carbon. 
Levi Essler. 

Commissioned officers 4 

Musicians 2 

Non-commissioned officers 8 

Private soldiers 83 

Total 97 

Number of men enlisted in Pottsville 74 

Number enlisted outside of Pottsville, but in county 10 

Number enlisted outside of county along route to New 

Orleans 13 

Total 97 

The following is a copy of a letter written by William 
Merkle, July 16, 1847, to his mother, Mrs. Elizabeth Merkle, 
of Spring Garden, Schuylkill Haven, several days before his 
death. Col. Daniel Nagle says : "William Merkle and John 
Douty went out for a walk, one morning, beyond the picket 
line, when they were shot by Mexican Greasers lying in am- 
bush. Their bodies were recovered and buried within the 
redoubts." (History of Merkles.) The original is in the pos- 
session of his great nephew, Prof. Bartolet, Instructor of 
Mathematics, Collegiate Institute, York, Pa. The stamp bears 
the date of November 5, 1847, Vera Cruz, Mexico. Wm. 
Merkle was an uncle of W. M. Zerbey, deceased, of Potts- 
ville. 



130 BLUE BOOK OF 

Mexican War 

Castle of Revote, Mexico, July i6, 1847. 
My Dear Mother:— 

I am now in this castle, 36 miles from Jalapa, about no 
from Vera Cruz, and more than 2,000 from you and my own 
dear home. I am in good health, good spirits, and pleased with 
my companions. Here we live on the best productions of 
Mexico, without work, and permitted to enjoy ourselves as 
we most desire ; and so long as we enjoy health, no one could 
wish for more happiness. The building is very large, the city 
of Revote a short mile distant, and the whole country around 
is a level plain of cultivated land, bounded by mountains ot 
immense heighth, for their tops are always covered with 
snow. Beef, pork, potatoes, onions, beans, peas, tomatoes, 
etc., are very plenty, but very dear here. 

We have had some hard fighting, but, thank God, I am 
yet among the living, although in the midst of all the trials. 
On the evening of the 21st of June, our company, with some 
others, left here to relieve a train of wagons from Vera 
Cruz, and the next morning at three o'clock we routed our 
savage enemies at Lavidia, about 16 miles from here. The 
Mexicans numbered about 500— our force about 300 ; but we 
routed and defeated them, killing about 100 of them, with- 
out loss of a single man, although we lost four horses. 

We are now awaiting fresh orders, and expect to have 
another engagement with more than 5,000 Mexicans who 
have fortified the National Bridge, between here and Vera 
Cruz. When or whither we go is uncertain. 

The sick and wounded are dying very fast in our hos- 
pital. The funerals average from 10 to 13 every day. We 
have only lost five out of our company by death, but many 
by desertion and discharge. 

We are uncertain when peace will be agreed upon, or 
when we will return home. 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 
Mexican War 



121 



I have never received an answer to any of my letters 
home, and you need not expect another until you write to 
Your affectionate son, 

William Merkle. 
Mrs. Elizabeth Merkle. 

The Civil W^ar of the Rebellion has not been adverted 
to in these pages. It is of too recent occurrence and its his- 
tory too well knowni to class it with the early events to which 
the volume is devoted. Its stirring history is left to the pen 
of the historian of the future if it has not been already covered 
by the ready writer. 




122 BLUE BOOK OF 

The Early Settlers 



The Early Settlers 



3ifT IS difficult to divorce a given locality from the name it 
In bears at the present time. From this arises the general 
^ impression that Schuylkill County, because it was not or- 
ganized at that date, has no ante-Revolutionary history, and 
that its area had no settlers before Berks County was erected 
in 1752, or even before its broad acres were included vmder 
its present title, Schuylkill County, in 181 1. It should be 
borne in mind that the land included in Schuylkill County 
was once known as Chester, later as Lancaster and then 
as Berks County. 

The history of the early settlers along the Schuylkill 
River and the interior townships of Schuylkill County is 
synonymous with that of Berks County and one of the keen- 
est pleasures of the historian is to trace the relationship of 
the heads of the many prominent families in Berks County, 
(Schuylkill), whose descendants by the hundreds occupy 
prominent places in the makeup of other cities, states and 
towns all over the United States and not the least of them, 
those that have contributed so largely to the population of 
Schuylkill County. A brief mention of some of these, it 
would be impossible to note all, is involved in the story. 

EARLY NOTABLE SETTLERS 

The Minsi Indian village, Tulpewehaki, after which the 
section called Tulpehocken was named, existed in 1723, when 
the thirty-three families came to where Middletown, Dauphin 
County, now is, on the Swatara Creek, where they distributed 
themselves, their descendants populating the Tulpehocken, 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 123 

The Early Settlers 

from which was formed Tulpehocken, Upper Tulpehocken, 
Bethel, Heidelberg, North Heidelberg, Lower Heidelberg, 
Bern, Perm, Centre, Upper Bern, Marion and Jefferson 
Townships, all that locality at that date being then included 
in Chester County. 

One of the most notable men among the early settlers 
was Conrad Weiser Jr^, who came to the Tulpehocken from 
New York, 1729, with his wife and four children and settled 
one mile east of Middletown (Womelsdorf.) 

His father, John Conrad Weiser, Sr., was a magis- 
trate and man of influence in Gross Astlach, County Back- 
nang. Duchy of Wuertemberg, Germany. V\^ith the ruin of 
his home he cast his lot with the Palatines and immigrated 
to America in 1710. The mistake of his life was that he, 
a widower with seven children — one daughter, married, re- 
mained in Germany — in 171 1, married a woman much 
younger than himself. His first wife was Anna Magdalena 
Ueblen, who died May i, 1709, and was buried in Astlach. 
The second wife, with whom he had three children, was 
unkind to him and to his children. Two of his sons, George 
and Christoph Frederick, were bound out by the Governor 
of Long Island ; his family scattered, and his son, Conrad, 
lived with the Mohawks. 

THE WEISERS, FATHER AND SON 

Though treating his children with harshness he seemed 
himself to have been very unhappy and came in great hu- 
mility and penitence, at the age of 86, to die with his son, 
Conrad, in Penna., his death occurring July 13, 1760, and 
that of his wife June 10, 1781. 

Conrad Weiser, Jr., was born at Aestaet, Herrenberg, 
Wuertemberg, Germany, November 2, 1696. He came with 

(Note 1— A diary of his, owned by Howell Souders, of Tamaqua, Pa., 
and translated from the German by Rev. George Gebert, gives many in- 
teresting facts of his life.) 



124 BLUE BOOK OF 

The Early Settlers 

his father to New York, i/io, at the age of 14. He lived 
with the Mohawk Indians eight years, in the family of 
Quaynant, JMohawk Chief, where he acquired the Magnaisch 
language. Returning to his father's home in the Schoharie 
he frequently acted as interpreter between the Germans and 
the Indians. He was employed in this capacity by the Pro- 
vincial Government, after his removal to the Tulpehocken, 
1729, a position he filled with great discretion aud tact. He 
was promnient in the French and Indian war and served as 
Colonel in that war in command of the Second Battalion, 
Pennsylvania Recruits. He was a magistrate for the Pro- 
vincial Government and his letters to the agents of that 
Government during the Indian War reflect great credit on 
his sagacity and prudence in his dealings with the red men.^ 

CONRAD WEISER'S DIARY2 3 

In the year 1696 on the 2nd of November was I, Conrad 
Weiser, born in Europe, in the country of Wiiertemberg, in 
the Magistracy at Herrenberg. The village is called Ae- 
staet, and at Kuppingen nearby I was baptized. * * * * 

My father's name was Johann Conrad Weiser. My 
mother, Anna Magdalcna, nee Ueblen. My grandfather, also 
Jacob Weiser, magistrate in the village of great Astlach, in 
the District of Backnang, situated in the county of W^uert- 
emberg, in above village. My ancestors, from very olden 
times were born and lie buried there, as well on the father's 
as on the mother's side. * * * * 

In the year 1709 my mother departed on the ist day in 
May in the 43rd year of her age, when she Avas with her loth 
child. She left the children : Catrina, Margreda, Magdalena, 



(Note 1 — Col. Records, Vol. 2, Penna. Archives.) 

(Note 2 — From "Penn Germania," September-October, 1912, Vol. 1, 
Old Series.) 

(Note 3 — The diary is interwoven with many pious ejaculations and 
quotations from the Scriptures. The historical part only is published.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 125 

The Early Settlers 



Sabina, Conrad, George, Frederick, Barbara, Johann Frederick, 
and was there buried by the side of her ancestors. * * * * 

In the above named year, 1709, my father moved away 
from Great Astkich, on the 24th of June. He took seven chil- 
dren with him. My oldest sister Catrina remained there with 
her husband, Conrad Boss, with whom she had already two 
chiklren. l\[y father left them his house, fields and meadows, 
vineyards and gardens. They could raise no more than 75 
guilders. The rest, amounting to 600 guilders, my father was 

to get later, but was never done and is now presented to them. 

* * * * 

After about two months we landed in London, England, 
with some thousand (a few thousand) Germans whom Queen 
Anna of most honorable memory received and supplied with 
food. About Christmas we were loaded, ten ships full, about 
4000 souls, for America. On the 13th of June we came to 
anchor in New York, North America, and in the Fall of the 
same year were placed on Lewenstein's Manor at the expense 
of the Queen. * * * * 

Here in Livingstone or Lewenstein INIanor, we were to 
burn tar and cultivate hemp to remunerate the Queen for the 
passage. From Holland to England and from England to 
New York under direction of Compeers as : Johann Cast, 
Heinrich Meyer, Reichard Seukott, who were placed over us 
by Robert Hunter, Governor of New York. Nothing would 
succeed however, and the people were declared free and re- 
leased in the year 1713. Then the people separated into the 
province of New York. Many remained there. * * * * 

Nearly 150 families resolved to move to Jochary, a place 
about 40 English miles to the west of Albany. They sent 
Deputies to the Magnaisch Land to confer about it with the 
Indians, who allowed them to settle at Jochary because of 
their Indian deputy, who was in England, while the German 
people lay in tents on the black heath, had presented this 



126 BLUE BOOK OF 

The Early Settlers 

Jochary to Queen x\nna to settle this people on it. The In- 
dian Deputies were sent to direct the Germans to Jochary. 
My father was the first among the German Deputies. * * * * 

In November, 1713, after the above mentioned deputies 
returned from the Magnaisch Land to the Manor Lewenstein, 
the people moved the same Fall to Albany and Schenectady, 
so as to move to Jochary the next Spring. Bread was extra- 
ordinarily high. The people worked hard to earn their daily 
bread, but the inhabitants were very liberal and did these 
newly-arrived Germans much good although the evilminded 
were not wanting also. My father arrived the same Fall in 
Schenectady and stayed during the winter with a man by the 
name of Johann Meynderton. A chief of the Magnaisch Na- 
tion by the name of Quaynant visited my father, and they 
decided that I should go with Quaynant into his country to 
learn the Magnaisch language. I went with him and arrived 
toward the end of November, in Magnaisch Land, and had 
to lodge with the Indians. I had to suffer much from the 
severe cold for I was but poorly clothed. Toward Spring I 
suffered much from hunger because the Indians had nothing 
to eat. One bushel of corn cost from 5 to 6 shillings. The 
Indians were at that time also very cruel in their drunken- 
ness, so that I had often to hide myself from fear of the 
drunken Indians. * * * * 

In the Spring of 17 14 my father moved from Schenectady 
to Schohary, with about 150 families in great poverty. One 
borrowed a horse here and another borrowed a cow there, a 
harness for a plow, with it they hitched together and broke 
up so much land so that the next year they had almost corn 
enough to eat. During the year we suffered much hunger 
however, and the people made many a meal with wild pataten 
(potatoes) and strawberries (Erdbonnen) which grow here 
in large quantities. Potatoes are called by the Indians, 
ochnanada and strawberries, otachvagara. * * * * 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 127 

The Early Settlers 

If we wanted flour we had to go about 35 or 40 miles 
for it and to get it we had to beg it on credit; then one got 
a bushel or two here and the other there of wheat and had 
to be often 3 or 4 days from home before we arrived with 
our own people, who waited meanwhile with pain and tears 
for bread. The people had settled in villages, of which there 
were seven. The first and nearest to Schenectady was called i, 
Knes Kernville ; 2, Gerlachsville ; 3, Foxville ; 4, Hans George 
Schmitzville ; 5, Weisers or Bremenville ; 6, Hartmansville ; 
7, Upper Weiserville. * * * * 

After the deputies who had been sent to Lewensteine's 
Manor returned toward the end of July, I came again from 
the Indians to my father. I had made a good beginning, or 
had learned the greater part of the IMagnaisch language. One 
English mile from my father's house lived some Magnaisch 
families. Then there were often of the Magnaisch on their 
hunting trips in trouble and there was much to interpret but 
without pay. There was no one else to be found among our 
people who imderstood the language. I therefore mastered 
the language completely, as much as my years and other 
circumstances permitted. * * * * 

Here the people lived for a few years without a preacher 
and without government, generally in peace. Each one did 
what he thought was right. About this time I became very 
sick and thought I had to die and would gladly have died, 
for my stepmother was a stepmother indeed. On her repre- 
sentation I was treated very severely by father, had besides 
no other friend, and had to suffer hunger and cold. I had 
often decided to run away but by this sickness the bridle and 
bit were in my mouth, I was bound as it were with a rope to 
render obedience and to stay with my father. * * * * 

I have said above that my father migrated as widower 
from Germany and landed with 7 children in New York in 
1710. There my two brothers George Frederick and Chris- 



128 BLUE BOOK OF 

The Early Settlers 

toph Frederick were bound out by the Governor of Long- 
Island, with permission of my father who was sick at the 
time. The following- winter, namely in December, my young- 
est brother Johann Frederick, died about the sixth year of 
his age and was buried in Lewenstein's Busch. He was the 
first dead that was buried in the church flats of the Reformed 
church, in Weiserville. * * "' * 

In 171 1 my father married my stepmother, of whom I 
have just written. It was an unfortunate marriage and 
caused that my brothers and sisters were all scattered. And 
at last I was alone with him, besides the three children he 
had with my stepmother as Johann Frederick and Jacob Wei- 
ser and Rebecca. Everything else, too, went backward and 
one misfortune after another came over our family, of which 
I took at all times my share. Often I knew not where to 
go and I learned to sigh to God and the Bible became to me 
a very acceptable book. * * * * 

To come back to Schohary, the people had taken pos- 
session of it without greeting the Governor of New York, 
who after he showed them his disapproval, sold the land of 
Schohary to seven rich merchants, of whom four lived in 
Albany and the other three in New York. The names of 
those in Albany were : Meyndert Schiller, John Schiller, 
Robert Livingstone, Peter von Brughen. Those in New York 
were : George Clark, at the time Secretary ; Doctor Hads, Rip 
von Dam; whereupon arose a great cry in Schohary and Al- 
bany because in Albany many people desired that the people 
should keep the land. * * * * 

The people in Schohary divided into two parties, the 
strongest party would not submit l)ut maintained the land, 
and sent therefore deputies to England to obtain from King- 
George, the First, not only Schohary but more land for the 
other High Germans. It did not go according to their wish, 
for first the three deputies had to depart secretly. They 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 129 

The Early Settlers 

took ship therefore in Philadelphia in 1718 and ran as soon 
as they got on the open sea into the hands of pirates, who 
took their money as well as that of the people of the ship, 
and then let them go. * * * * 

My father, who was one of the deputies, was bound and 
scourged three times but would confess to no money. At last 
William Schaft, the other deputy, said to the pirates : you 
men, I and this man had one purse and I have given it to you, 
he can give you nothing, thereupon they let him in peace. 
They had to run into Boston to buy provisions in the place 
of those which the pirates had taken from them. \Mien they 
arrived in England they found the times changed, nor did 
a Queen Anna rule any more, they found but a very few of 
the old benefactors. * '^ * * 

Among them were two gentlemen, Boehm and Robert, 
Preachers of the German Castle Chapel. These did all they 
could. The matter of the deputies came at last before the 
Lord Commissioners of Trade and Plantation. The governor 
of New York, Robert Hunter, was cited home, in the mean- 
time the deputies got into debt. Walrath, the third deputy, 
got homesick, boarded a ship for New York and died on the 
ocean. The other two were thrown into prison. They wrote in 
good time for money but the imprudence and dishonesty of 
those who should forward the money which the people had 
brought together, caused the money to come very slowly to 
England. Aleanwhile Robert Hunter had arrived in England, 
settled his difficulties, had accounted for what he had done to 
Schohary before the Lords of Trade. His opponents were 
in prison, had neither friends nor money, \\nien at last a 
draft of 70 pounds sterling arrived they were released from 
prison again and renewed their appeal. At last they effected 
an order on the newly arrived Governor of New York, by the 
name of \\^illiam Burnet to give to the High German people, 
which had been sent to New York by Queen Anna the land 
which had not yet been given away. * * * * 



I30 BLUE BOOK OF 

The Early Settlers 

Toward the end of the year, 1720, William Burnet arrived 
in New York. At the beginning of 1721 I was sent to this 
above named Governor to give him a petition. He showed 
himself friendly and told me of the order of the Lords of 
Trade he had brought with him, which he had resolved to 
live up to. (Jur de])Uties were yet in England and were not 
satisfied with the decision, but effected nothing more. 
Toward the end of this year, 1721, Schaft had become dis- 
satisfied with my father and came home — they had both hard 
heads. At last in November, 1723, my father also came home. 
Schaft had died some weeks after his arrival. * * * * 

Governor Burnet gave those few who wanted to settle on 
land of the Magnaisch land patents, namely for land on Stony 
Arabia and above the fall but none on the river, as the people 
had hoped, therefore they separated, most of them moved to 
the Magnaisch land or stayed in Schohary and bought land 
from the above named 7 gentlemen. The people received 
news from the land at the Swatara and Tulpehocken in Penn- 
sylvania. Many of them came together, cut a way from Scho- 
hary to the Susquehanna and brought their goods hither and 
made canoes and journeyed down to the mouth of the Swa- 
tara Creek and drove their cattle overland in the Spring of 
1723. Thence they came to Tulpehocken and this is the be- 
ginning of the Tulpehocken Settlement. Later others fol- 
lowed and settled there, at first without permission of the 
owners of the land or his company, or toward the Indians from 
whom the people had not yet bought the land. There was no 
one among the people who could manage them, each one did 
as he wished and their stubbornness stood in their way up 
to this time. I will now leave them and describe my own cir- 
cumstances : 

In 1720 when my father went to England I married 
my Anna Eva, the Rev. Johann Frederick Heger, Reformed 
preacher, united us on the 22nd November in my father's 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 131 

The Early Settlers 

house in Schohary. On the 7th of September, 1722, my son 
Philip was born and by Johann Bernard von Duehren, Luth- 
eran preacher, baptized. His sponsors were Philip Braun 
and his wife. On the 14th of January, 1725, my daughter 
Anna Madlina was born and was baptized by Johann Jacob 
Oehl, Reformed preacher. The sponsors were Christian 
Bausch, Junior, and my sister Barbara. * * * * 

On the 24th June, 1727, my daughter INIaria was born and 
was baptized by William Christoph Birkenmeyer, Lutheran 
minister. Sponsors were Nicklas Peg and his wife. On the 
24th of December, 1728, my son Frederick was born. He was 
baptized by Johann Bernard von Deuren, Lutheran preacher. 
Sponsors were Nicklas Peg and his wife. These four were 
born to me at Schohary. After this, namely in the year 1729, 
I moved to Pennsylvania and settled at Tulpehocken where 
the following children were born to me : On the 27th of Feb- 
ruary, 1730, my son Peter was born and on the 15th of Feb- 
ruary, 1 73 1, two sons were born to me, who were named 
Christoph and Jacob ; the first lived fifteen weeks and the 
second thirteen weeks, when they were released from the evil 
of this time and departed into blessed eternity. On the 19th 
of June, 1732, my daughter Elizabeth was born to me. On 
the 28th of January, 1734, my daughter Margreda was born. 
On the 23rd of April, 1735, my son Samuel was born. On 
the 1 8th of July, 1736, another son was born to me. I named 
him Benjamin. When he was three months old the kind 
Providence of the Almighty God took him away. In the 
same year my daughter Elizabeth followed. On the nth of 
August, 1740, again a son was born to me. We named him 
Jabez. The mercy of God released him from the evil of this 
time when he had lived 17 days. On the 27th of February, 
1742, again a daughter was born to me. I named her Hannah. 
On the following nth of August she departed into the blessed 
eternity. On the i6th of March of this same year my beloved 



132 BLUE BOOK OF 

The Early Settlers 

daughter Madlina departed from time to eternity with a 
gentle death after a long continued sickness. On the 12th 
of August, 1744, my son Benjamin was born to me. (Ending 
of my book writing.) 

(The diarist died July 13, 1760; his wife, Anna Eve, 
December 27, 1778, and his stepmother, 1781.) 

THE WEISER FAMILY 

Conrad Weiser did not seem to ally himself with either 
party in the early religious difficulties, but as mentioned 
heretofore, signed himself as an "impartial witness" and J. P. 
to an arbitration settlement in the "Tulpehocken confusion." 
He however was baptized at Ephrata by Conrad Beissel, of 
the German Seventh Day Baptists, but antagonisms arose and 
he forsook that society several days after his baptism. 

The remains of Conrad Weiser and his wife Anna Eva — 
to whom he was married in the Schoharie, November 22, 
1720, and by whom he had fourteen children — are interred 
on the Sheetz farm, in a private burial ground, less than a 
mile from Womelsdorf. 

The Weiser farm contained two hundred and forty-eight 
acres and the remains of several old stone buildings, erected 
a century and a half or more ago, may still be seen on it. 
A handsome granite monument has been erected to the mem- 
ory of Conrad Weiser by the citizens of Womelsdorf. It 
stands in front of the public school house and is an ornament 
to the town. 

Rev. Henry Melchoir Muhlenberg was born at Reimbeck, 
Hanover, Germany, September 6, 171 1. He could preach in 
German, French, Swedish, Hollandische and English and was 
a fine Latin scholar. He came to America November, 1742, 
and was stationed at the Trappe from whence he visited the 
Lutherans as far north as the Blue Mountains. He was mar- 



(Note 1— Life of Conrad Weiser, J. S. Walton.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY i33 

The Early Settlers 

ried to Anna Maria, daughter of Conrad Weiser. He lived 
for a time in Albany Township, but died at the Trappe, 
October 7, 1787. His son. Rev. Henry E. Muhlenberg, was 
an able minister of the Lutheran church at Lancaster, and 
his grandson. Rev. Henry A. Muhlenberg, was for 27 years 
the efificient pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church, Reading. 
On his retirement he was elected to Congress, where he 
served as a member nine years and was subsequently United 
States minister to Austria. 

John Peter Muhlenberg, whose statue is in Statuary Hall, 
national capitol, Washington, D. C, was a son of Henry 
Melchoir Muhlenberg, D. D., and was born at La Trappe, 
Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. He was a Lutheran 
minister but was obliged to be ordained a priest in the Pro- 
testant Episcopal Church in order to take a charge in Vir- 
ginia. He preached his farewell sermon at Woodstock, that 
state, December, 1775, concluding it with these words, 
"There is a time to preach, there is a time to pray, but this 
is the time to fight." He then threw off his black silk robes 
and stepped forward in the full uniform of an officer of the 
Continental Army. A drum was beat outside of the church 
and a fife played and on his repairing thither, a company of 
recruits of the male members of the congregation was formed 
with the fighting pastor as captain. 

GOVERNOR JOHN ANDREW SCHULZE 

Rev. Christian Emanuel Schulze was a son-in-law of Rev. 
Henry Melchoir Muhlenberg and Anna Maria Weiser. He 
was pastor of Christ Lutheran Church, Stouchsburg, from 
December, 1770, to March 9, 1809. Governor John Andrew 
Schulze was born in the parsonage, July 19, 1775, and was edu- 
cated and ordained for the Lutheran ministry, 1796. He assist- 
ed his father in Berks, Lancaster and Lebanon counties but 
retired from the ministry and removed to Myerstown, Dau- 



134 BLUE BOOK OF 

The Early Settlers 

phin County, where he eng-aged in the mercantile business. 
He was elected to the Legislature, 1806, and twice re-elected. 
He was Prothonotary of Lebanon County for eight years, 
from 1813 and in 1821 was again elected to the Legislature. 
In 1822 he was a Senator from Dauphin County and was 
elected Governor of Pennsylvania and served from Decem- 
ber 15, 1823, to December 15, 1829. Governor Schulze signed 
the charter erecting Pottsville, Schuylkill County, into a bor- 
ough, March 11, 1828. 

NOT ALL GOVERNORS 

When word came that John Andrew Schulze had been 
elected Governor of Pennsylvania — so the story goes — several 
friends of his called at the family home to offer their con- 
gratulations. The household were at the supper table and the 
mother was busy waiting upon her clamorous young brood 
that they might satisfy their vociferous and healthy appetites 
without interruption. Hearing the conversation, one of the 
boys said, in the reigning vernacular : 

"Mom, if Pop is Governor, will we all be Governors, too?" 

When the good dame replied : "Nay ! Yuscht ich und der 
Daddy sin Governors." ("No, only father and I are Gover- 
nors.") 

Berks County furnished three governors for the Common- 
wealth : Joseph Hiester, from December 19, 1820, to Decem- 
ber 16, 1823 ; Governor Schulze and Francis R. Shunk, who 
served from January 21, 1845, to July 9, 1848, when he re- 
signed. Joseph Hiester was a son of John Hiester, who emi- 
grated 1732 from Elsof, Westphalia, Germany. He was a 
Captain in the Revolutionary war and was governor when the 
capital was removed from Lancaster to Harrisburg. The cap- 
ital was removed from Philadelphia, 1799, and remained at 
Lancaster until 1821. Governor Hiester left an estate of 
$468,000.1 

(Note 1— Smull's Hand Book.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 135 

The Early Settlers 

BALTZAR GEHR 

Those of the early justices who served from 1752 to 
1776, on the Berks County Judiciary and were identified with 
the early development of Schuylkill County were : Conrad 
Weiser, Francis Parvin, James Boone, Jacob Levan, Jacob 
Morgan, George Douglass, Jonathan Potts and Baltzar Gehr. 

Baltzar Gehr was born of German extraction at Ger- 
mantown, January 22, 1740. He removed to Amity Town- 
ship, Berks County, and married Catharine Hunter, in Oley, 
1767, where he was employed as gunsmith. In 1771 he 
bought a large plantation in Bern, near the Blue Mountain 
and represented that part of Berks County and what is now 
Schuylkill County, in the Pennsylvania Associators. He was 
active in the militia, 1775-1776, and a Lieutenant Colonel in 
the Revolutionary War in the campaign about New York. 
Pie was judge in the county courts, 1 775-1 784, and a member 
in the General Assembly, i782-'86-'92-'99. He died June 19, 
1801, and is buried on a farm in Maxatawny Township, near 
Kutztown, to which he removed from Bern, His two sons 
and two daughters died soon after and having left no will, 
his large estate was involved in a costly litigation covering 
a period of fifteen years. 

Baltzar Gehr owned a saw mill at the mouth of the 
Norwegian Creek where it empties into the Schuylkill River, 
Pottsville, Pennsylvania. It was operated by a man named 
John Neyman, who with his family lived on the hill slightly 
in the rear of the site of the Pottsville Hospital. Col. Val. 
Eckert reported to the Council, August 30, 1780, that 
"Joh'i Neyman, who lived at a saw mill on the road from 
Readmg to Shamokin, three miles above Conrad Minnich's, 
thirty-three miles from Reading, was, with his wife and 
three young children, barbarously murdered by the Indians. "^ 

(Note 1 — Penna. Archives, Vol. 8, pp. 529-571.) 



136 BLUE BOOK OF 

The Early Settlers 

It is related of Baltzar Gehr that he attended a levee given 
b}^ President Washington, in Independence Hall, Philadelphia, 
in company with others from Reading. In that day cards were 
not commonly used but the names of the guests were announc- 
ed upon their arrival. Entering the hall door he gave his 
name, upon request, to the usher, who called it out to another 
usher at the first landing of the stairway, who in turn called 
it out again to another at the door of the Assembly room. 
Not having been acquainted with the custom this public use 
of his name excited Mr. Gehr, so, that, he exclaimed in a loud 
tone of voice, "Yes, yes, I'm coming, gWe me time," to the 
great amusement of the other guests.^ 

JACOB MORGAN 

Jacob Morgan was born in Wales, 1716, and emigrated 
with his father, Thomas Morgan, to Caernarvon Township, 
Berks County, 1730. He was prominent in the French and 
Indian War and commanded a company of men who were 
stationed at Fort Lebanon, Schuylkill County. Fle was a 
judge and a justice of Berks County and represented it at the 
Provincial Council of 1776, and in the convention for framing 
the Constitution, the same year. He was Colonel of a bat- 
talion of Associators and held the command of all the troops 
raised in the county. In 1777 and 1778 he was a member of 
the executive council of the state and of the council of safety, 
in 1777. Lie held the appointment of assistant forage master. 
He died November 11, 1792, aged 76 years and is buried at 
Morgantown, which was named for him and which he laid 
out in 1770. (Colonel Jacob Morgan was the great grand- 
father of the Misses Douglass, of Orwigsburg, and the 
great great grandfather of George, Frank and Clement Rose- 
berry, of Pottsville. Miss Holt, teacher in the public schools, 
Pottsville, and others are also descendants.) 



(Note 1 — Daniel Rupp's History of Berks County, p. 229.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 137 

The Early Settlers 

THE DOUGLASS FAMILY 

Belonging to Lotz's battalion for the "Flying Camp" was 
a company commanded by George Douglass, Amity Town- 
ship, Berks County, 1776. George Douglass was married to 
Mary Piersol Morgan, by whom he had six children, Richard, 
Andrew, George, Elizabeth, married to John Jenkins; Rebecca, 
to Mordecai Piersol ; Bridget, to James May ; Andrew, the 
second son, to Rachael Morgan, daughter of Colonel Jacob 
Morgan. Andrew- Douglass was the father of George'^ 
Douglass, of Douglassville, Montgomery County, and 
later of Orwigsburg, Schuylkill County. He was educated 
for a ph3'sician, but having ample private means, never en- 
tered the active practice of his profession. George^ Doug- 
lass was married to a sister of Attorney John R. Bannan, 
of Pottsville, by whom he had eight children, three sons, de- 
ceased, and five daughters, one of whom, deceased, married 
Attorney John ^^^ Roseberry, of the Schuylkill County Bar, 
and three others at this writing, 1915, are still living in the 
old homestead, and one in Pottsville. 

One of the earliest settlers in that part of Berks County, 
now Schuylkill, was Jacob Frederick Kuemmerlin (Kemmer- 
ling), who took up a tract of two hundred acres of land in 
Panther Valley, about 1750, (now the Fessler tract). Rev. 
John Caspar Stoever's records note a son of the above, John 
Michael Kuemmerlin, baptized by him, July i, 1753, "across 
the Blue Mountains." A son of Jacob Frederick Kemmerling 
settled in West Brunswick Township, near the Kimmel meet- 
ing house, about 181 1, where the stone house he built is still 
one of the substantial homes in that vicinity. The descend- 
ants of Jacob Frederick still live in the southern part of the 
county, some having moved to the West. 



(Note — The figures 1, 2, 3 refer to the number of the generation.) 



138 BLUE BOOK OF 

The Early Settlers 

GENERAL HUGH MERCER'S SWORD PRESENTED 
TO ST. ANDREW'S SOCIETY 

The writer is indebted to Miss Rachael Douglass for the 
following correspondence from the "Pennsylvanian," of Feb- 
ruary 13, 1841, John W. Forney's newspaper, published at 
Harrisburg. 

The letter from Philadelphia to the "Pennsylvanian," 
dated February 6, 1S41, states in gist, that, "Mrs. George W. 
Morgan, of Philadelphia, presented to the St. Andrew's So- 
ciety, of that city, January 28th, a sword of General Hugh 
Mercer. The latter was a Scotch soldier who brought to the 
aid of General AA^ashington and the Colonial forces a sterling 
devotion and rare strategic ability, in the War of the Revo- 
lution. 

After the battle of Trenton, General Washington formed 
his troops into three divisions to cross the Delaware, at dif- 
ferent points, hoping to surprise the British after the Christ- 
mas festivities. If this masterly stroke had succeeded the 
result would have been to sweep away the British from all 
their posts and thus establish a firm footing in the Jerseys. 
The surrender of eight hundred and eighty-six of the Hes- 
sians to the Colonial army inspired new hope in the American 
forces. The battle of Trenton was re-fought January 2, 1777. 

Lord Cornwallis, who was on the eve of sailing for 
England on this display of fresh courage on the part of the 
Continentals, returned and resumed his command of the 
British forces. Generals Mifflin, Cadwalader and Hugh Mer- 
cer were Washington's supports, the latter was severely 
wounded in this engagement and died in the arms of his de- 
voted friend. Brigadier General Jacob Morgan, to whom be- 
fore expiring he handed his sword. This sword was pre- 
sented to and accepted by the St. Andrew's Society, Philadel- 
phia. 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY i39 

The Early Settlers 

A copy of the resolutions passed on the presentation, 
thanking Mrs. Morgan, was sent her and is still in possession 
of the family. They were signed by: Qtiintin Campbell. 
Pres. ; R. Glendinning, Sec. ; John Struthers, John K. Mitchell, 
James Ronaldson. 

John K. Mitchell was the father of Dr. S. Wier Mitchell, 
deceased, the latter of whom referred to the presentation of 
this sword at a banquet, given in the Clover room, Bellevue- 
Stratford, at the one hundred and thirty-seventh anniversary 
of the Society, December 5, 1906. 

ABRAHAM LINCOLN, DANIEL BOONE 

'^Arnold's Life of Abraham Lincoln" says, Mordecai Lin- 
coln, great grandfather of President Lincoln, lived at the 
Quaker settlement, in Oley, before 1735. He came there from 
Massachusetts, having lived a short time in New Jersey. He 
died May, 1736, and is buried there. He devised a tract of 
land to his three sons, Mordecai, Thomas and Abraham. 
The family went to Kentucky. President Lincoln was a 
descendant of Thomas Lincoln, son of Abraham. Mordecai 
Lincoln sold his part of the tract of land to Michael Zerbe.^ 

Ellis Hughes, who had a saw mill near Pottsville, lived 
in Amity, in 1736, and was a trustee of the Friends' Meeting 
House, on the Oley line. 

Daniel Boone, the famous hunter, was born in Exeter, 
on Monocacy Creek, October 22, 1733. He was a son of 
George Boone, who took up a tract there, 1718, and subse- 
quently removed to North Carolina, then to Kentucky. Some 
of the earliest residents of this township were the Esterlys, 
Daniel, Jacob and Bernhard, from whom the Esterlys of 
Reading and of Pottsville are direct descendants. They took 
up land in 1740. 



(Note 1 — Mordecai Lincoln, Grantor, to Michael Zerbe, Grantee, April 
30, 1789, tract of land in Exeter Township, B. 146, p. 504, Berks County 

Courts.) 



140 BLUE BOOK OF 

The Early Settlers 

Isaac Levan lived in this township before 1770. He was 
the progenitor of the Schuylkill Haven and Minersville Le- 
vans. The name originally was spelled Le Van. 

September 5, 1720, a petition was presented to court at 
Philadelphia for the erection of a new township, but it was 
not till twenty years later that Oley was formed. Isaac 
DeTurck and Jonathan Herbein were among the signers, both 
of whom settled there in 1717. Isaac DeTurck came from 
northern France to Dutchess County, New York, 1709, and 
to Oley in 1717. (Samuel DeTurck, d., of Friedensburg, and J. 
H. Herbein, of Pottsville, are descendants of the above.) 
Samuel Saul, Peter Bertolette, George Boone, Yost Yoder 
and Isaac Levan were among the signers — their descendants 
are well represented in Schuylkill County. 

Jean Bertolette, a native of Picardie, France, near the 
English Channel, was a Huguenot and came to this country 
with the Palatines, 1726, the Berks County branch retained 
the original spelling, but the Bartolets, of Cressona, Schuyl- 
kill County, anglicized it although they claim descent from 
the same head. 

John Keim came to Oley Township in 1718, where his son, 
Nicholas Keim, was born April 2, 1719. His first wife was 
Magdalena Floch, twin sister of Maria Hoch, who married 
John Pott. Fie removed to Reading, 1755, and 1769 bought 
the old "White Store," Penn Street, where he carried on a 
general hardware lousiness, and which was in possession of 
the family one hundred and thirty years. He was the first 
judge of the Berks County courts, from 1752 to 1760. He was 
married twice, his second wife was Susanna, daughter of Dr. 
George De Benneville, for whom George De B. Keim, de- 
ceased, who located in Pottsville, was named. Mr. Keim 
was appointed general solicitor for the Reading Railway Com- 
pany, 1875, and in 1883 was elected vice president. He died 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 141 

The Early Settlers 



December 18, 1893, at Reading. He was married to Elizabeth 
Cocke Trezevant, the only child of Judge of the Supreme 
Court, Trezevant, of South Carolina. 

Mr. Keim left one child, Julia. Mrs. George De B. Keim 
endowed the Pottsville Hospital with a perpetual annuity in 
memoriam of her husband, and that institution is otherwise 
receiving benefits through her generosity, at the present time. 

SCHUYLKILL COUNTY ERECTED FROM BERKS 

Schuylkill County was created in 181 1 and contains an 
area of eight hinidred and forty square miles ; its population, 
1910, v/as 207,894. It contains thirty-one townships and 
twenty-nine boroughs, with Pottsville, the county seat, a third 
class city.^ 

In 1775 there were only eleven counties in Pennsylva- 
nia. In 1776 the resident taxables north of the Blue Moun- 
tains, who were also subject to military duty, numbered one 
hundred and fifty, and the whole population in what is now 
Schuylkill County was six hundred. 

The entire area, except one-sixth, since added, of Schuyl- 
kill County was known as Berks County and prior to 1752, 
as Lancaster, and before 1729, as Chester County. 

In 1776 the total population of Berks County was about 
twenty thousand, the taxables were about four thousand and 
this number between the ages of eighteen and fifty-three 
were subject to military duty. The population of Pennsyl- 
vania was three hundred thousand white and two thousand 
colored. The number of inhabitants in that part of Berks 
which was included in Schuylkill County, in 181 1, was six 
thousand. 

The Township of Bethel occupied the northwestern cor- 
ner of Berks County, from the top of the Blue Mountain to 



(Note 1 — Commissioners' office, court house, and Smull's Hand Book.) 



142 BLUE BOOK OF 

The Early Settlers 

Swatara Creek. To the east and south lay the Tulpehocken 
Manor, which was in Chester County, until 1729, when it be- 
came part of Lancaster. In ly^S-'g, Bethel, Tulpehocken, 
Heidelberg and Bern were the townships in the northwest 
and centre. The taxables in 1775 were: In Tulpehocken 
three hundred and four ; Pine Grove, ninety ; Heidelberg, two 
hundred and eighteen ; Brunswick, one hundred and twenty- 
seven ; Bern, two hundred and sixty-nine. 

Bern was erected in 1738 and extended over the Blue 
Mountain into what is now Schuylkill County, including the 
territory between the Blue and Sharp Mountains. This part 
of Bern was included in Pinegrove Township, 1771. 

(Bern, Upper Bern, Penn and Centre Townships, Berks 
County, were all erected out of Bern, 1841-1849.) 

An interesting locality, historically, is the manor of two 
thousand acres set apart for the use of Thomas Penn, 1732. 
It was known as "Allemaengle (All Wants), prior to 1752. 
From it was formed Albany, Windsor and Greenwich Town- 
ships, the two former being the boundary line between Berks 
and Schuylkill Counties, in the northeast corner of the former 
and forming a triangle, sometimes known as "Die Ecke." 
There were many refugees from Schuylkill in Allemaengle 
during the Indian troubles, i755-'8o. 

(The borough of Port Clinton is in Schuylkill County, but 
its railway centre and railway depot are located in Windsor 
Township, Berks County.) 

Conrad Weiser gave his son-in-law. Rev. Melchoir Muh- 
lenberg, a tract of fifty acres of land upon which was erected, 
1776, the Allemaengle Church. This church was a contem- 
porary of the Red or Zion's Church, of Schuylkill County, 
built 1752, and like the Red Church had a log building for 
worship before the above was built, the Red Church ante- 
dating it in date. (The first churches were all built of logs.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 143 

The Early Settlers 

Immediatel}' after the purchases from the Indians, 1741 
and 1749, settlers took these lands on both sides of the 
Schuylkill River, and Brunswick Township, on the north side 
of the mountain (now in Schuylkill County) was known as 
such long before it was legally created. 

Berks County tax lists show the names of taxables in 
"Brunswick" as early as 1754 (the first tax list). The town- 
ship was erected 1768, the year following it had forty-six 
resident taxpayers, thirty-six married and ten single men. 
Among these were: Heinrich, Nicholas and Johannes Miller, 
Peter Conrad, IMichael Deibert, Joseph Fisher, Paul Heim, 
Godfried Orwig, Valentine Tress, Henry Ketner, Jacob Kant- 
ner and Adam Heiser. The road, known as the "King's 
Highway," from Reading to Fort Augusta ran through this 
township. 

Pine Grove Township was erected in 1771, its area in- 
cluded the land west of the Schuylkill River, between the 
Blue and Sharp Mountains ; the line extending from the top 
of the mountain and including that part of Bern Township 
that lay north of that division and on the north side of the 
mountain. In the first assessment of taxes, 1771, there were 
fifty-five taxpayers, among whom were: Michael Forrer, 
Hans and Frederick Weiser, Michael Bretz, George Bressler, 
Michael Folmer, Henry Gebhart, Leonard and Philip Rieth, 
Mathias and Jacob Miller, Conrad Minnich, Benjamin, Dan- 
iel and Phillip Zerbe. (Conrad IMinnich was the first tax col- 
lector of Pinegrove Township.) 

Manheim Township was erected in 1790, from territory 
taken from Brunswick. The commissioners appointed to make 
the division were : George Reber, Philip Shatz, Jacob Shartle, 
John Shomo, Thomas Wright and Henry Vanderslice. There 
were one hundred and fifteen taxpayers in the assessment of 



144 BLUE BOOK OF 

The Early Settlers 

1 791, among whom were : Conrad Kerschner^, Frederick Boyer^ 
Michael and Jacob Alspach, Andrew Miller, Wm. Koch, Ja- 
cob Kepner, Michael and Henry Hummel, Martin Dreibel- 
beis, Michael and William Deibert, Michael, Peter and Phillip 
Confer, Jeremiah Reed, Daniel and John Stout, Conrad Min- 
nich and George Zerbe. 

Some of these names occur as taxpayers in Pine Grove 
and Brunswick Townships and also in those that came later. 
It should be borne in mind that the names of the townships 
and not the localities, in which the early pioneers settled, 
changed and that these tOAvnships were then part of Berks 
County and before 1752 in Lancaster County and prior to 1729 
the locality was included in Chester County. 

The area of these three original townships embraced the 
land extending from the Blue Mountains on the south to the 
Sharp Mountains on the north, and from Windsor Township 
on the east to Albany Township on the west. 

(On the Schuylkill River, near where the west branch 
empties into the regular channel, almost in the exact centre 
of these townships and in what was first known as Pinegrove 
Township, George Zerbe located, 1785, two tracts of land, 
one on each side of the road, on the west side of the long 
covered bridge (now in Schuylkill Haven), where he ran a 
fuling mill and cultivated a farm. Martin Dreibelbeis, 1775, 
built a stone grist mill on the east bank, opposite.) 

The line between Berks and Northumberland Counties 
was run 1795. On November 4, 1799, three new townships 
were laid out of the upper half, Schuylkill, Norwegian and 
Mahantongo, a part of the area of Berks not yet having been 



(Note 1 — Of the above, Conrad Kerschncr, taxpayer in Brunswick and 
Manheim Townships, it is related of him, by Montgomery, that he walked 
to Philadelphia to secure a grant of land from the Penns, upon which to 
build a church and in 1771 secured forty acres, the ground upon which 
old St. Paul's Church, of Hamburg, stands. He is buried at the Red 
Church cemetery, West Brunswick Township.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY HS 

The Early Settlers 

included in the townships. Mahantongo joined Pinegrove 
Township until 1807, when lower and upper Mahantongo 
were erected. Of these three townships, Berks County col- 
lected taxes from 1S02 till 181 1, when, with the addition of 
Rush and \\'est Penn Townships, from Northampton County, 
they were, with the three original townships, Brunswick, 
Pine Grove and Manheim, formed into Schuylkill County, 
including, as heretofore stated, all but one sixth of its present 
area. Of this sixth, contiguous parts were added from Lu- 
zerne, Columbia and Carbon Counties, until it attained its 
present proportions, attempts having been made several times 
to slice off portions to aid in forming new counties, but with- 
out success. 

The few Catholics in Brunswick and Pine Grove Town- 
ships were Germans and French, they attended church south 
of the Blue Mountain. The earliest Roman Catholic Church 
in Berks County was erected in Hereford Township, 1743. 
The Rev. Theodore Schneider, from Bavaria, was granted two 
patents for land which were taken up 1747 and 1748 by Fathers 
Neale and Greaton, for one hundred and twenty-one and 
three hundred and seventy-three acres respectively. Here 
the early Catholic settlers attended church. The priests were 
zealous and acted as itinerant missionaries to their scant 
flocks, visiting them on horse-back to administer the rites of 
the church to such as were unable to walk any distance. 
There are a number of early Catholics buried in the old 
cemetery of the Red Church (one and a half miles below 
Orwigsburg), among these: Johann Eichman, born June 16, 
1727, Alsace, France, died November 15, 1817; James Lyons, 
born November 2, 1768, in the town of York, Ireland, died 
February 26, 1819; Michael "McQuire," native of Ireland, 
died September 24, buried October 6th, aged 55 years. (Red 
Church records.) 



146 



BLUE BOOK OF 
The Early Settlers 



TOWNSHIPS AND FIRST SETTLERS 



Townships Organized 

First Settlers 

Barry, 1821— From Lower 

Mahantongo. 

1808 — The Yarnalls who came from 
New Jersey, John Bailey, John 
Garivey, John Heter, the Shupperts. 
Three thousand acres of land was 
owned by Joseph Reed at that time. 

Blythe. 184G. 

1780 —Identified with those of Schuyl- 
kill Township. 

Branch. 1830 — From Cass 

and Frailey. 

1750— The Adams', Phillip and George 
Clousci, Peter Starr, Fausts, 
Thomas Keed, John and Peter 
Zcrbe, Andrew Stcitzel, Fox. 

Butler. 1848— From Barry. 

1800— 1795— Nicholas Seitzinger, the 
Brobsts, Prestons and Kunkels. 

Cass. 1848— From Branch 

1810 — Phillip Alspach, on Primrose 
Hill; Krausc, Abraham Hoch, Kant- 
ner, Peter Yokam. 

East Brunswick, 1834 — from Bruns- 
wick. 

1770— John Kinear, Phillip Schwartz. 
Later — Ulrich Heiser, Daniel, Jacob 
and Frederick Bensinger, Bernard 
Kepner, Christian Koch, John Bo- 
lich, Abram Seltzer. 

East Norwegian. 1847 — From Nor- 
wegian. 

1780 — Peter Neuschwander, George, 
Jacob and Peter Reed, John and 
Conrad Heim, the Bechtels, Thomas 
and William Gottschall, John Mau- 
rer and Henry Gilbert. 

East Union. 1867 — From Union. 

1802. 

Eldred. 1848— From Up- 

per Mahantongo. 

1805 — Caspar Hepler, Jacob Rcinert, 
Peter Klock, Samuel Drecksler. 

Frailey. 1847 — From Barry, 

Branch and Mah- 
antongo. 



1818— Black Charlie, Negro Hermit; 
Samuel Gaskins, David Lomison, 
Adam Etien, Jacob Crone. 

Foster. 1855 — From Cass, 

Butler and Barry. 

1831 — Widow Levan kept log tav- 
ern near Mt. Pleasant. 

Hegins. 1853-1858— From 

Lower Mahanton- 
go. 

1801-1780— George Klinger, James 
Osman, Peter Kuhns, Jacob Heber- 
ling, John Dietrich. 
A half breed Indian, Hager, here 
in 1775. 

Hubley. 1853 — From Lower 

Mahantongo. 

1804— Phillip and Michael Artz, 
George Dietrich, John Haldeman, 
John Schmitz, John and Henry 
Stable. 

Kline. 1873. 

1815 — John Stackhouse, prior to this 
included in Rush. 

Mahanoy. 1849— From Rush. 

1791 — One Reisch, others, John 
Eisenhuth, Samuel May, Daniel 
Brobst, Erastes Williams, Henry 
Stauffer. 

New Castle. 1848 — From Norwe- 

wegian. 

3 families in 1800-1790— Nicho Allen, 
who was the reputed first discov- 
erer of coal in Schuylkill County, 
Jacob Yoh and John Boyer. 

NorthManheim. 1845 — From Man- 
heim, from Bruns- 
wick. 

1752 — Conrad Minnich came in 1752. 
Others, Henry Strauch, Michael 
and Wm. Deibert, Henry Dreibel- 
beis, George Zerbe. Ellis Hughes 
had a saw mill near the "Five 
Locks." 

North Union. 1867 — From Union. 

1806— Conrad Faust, Alburtis Miller, 
Fred. Lebenberg. 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 
The Early Settlers 



147 



Norwegian. ISll^From orig- 

inal three town- 
ships. 
1780-1790— Bright, Jacob Yohe, John 

Boyer, William Yohe. 
Pine Grove. 1771-1811-1750— 

Original. 
The Schnokes, Rebers, Hetricks, 
Haberlings, Schwalms, Zerbes, Boy- 
ers, Schaeffers, Bressler, Feltys, 
Minnichs, Eberts, Steins, anil oth- 
ers. 
Porter. 1840-1847— From 

Lower Mahanton- 
go. 
1774 — Daniel and Ennicr Williams, 
Cox, Lengle, Kline and Scull. 
James Wilson, one of the signers 
of the Declaration of Independence, 
owned large tracts of land here. 
In 1803 Daniel Green built a log 
cabin on top of Broad Mountain. 
Rahn. 1860— From West 

Penn. 
1752 Identified with West Penn. 
Burkhardt Moser came 1799 and 
John Kerchner. 

Reilly. 1857— From 

Branch. 

1790 — Jacob Fox and family, two of 
their daughters married Peter 
Starr and George Haeffer. The 
original patent of land, dated 1803, 
was granted Michael Kunkle. 

Rush. 1811-1752— From 

Northampton. 
1780-1800— Jacob Neifert, the Gott- 

schalls, Thomas Linder, John 

Faust. 
Ryan. 1868— From Rush 

and Mahanoy. 
1784 — David Drcsh, Heasing, Krcgler, 

George Focht, John Faust. 
Schuylkill. 1799-1811. 

1780-1802— Solomon, Joseph and 

Phillip Merkle, Yosts, Gilberts. 
South Manheim. 1845 — From Man- 
heim. 

Matthew Heim. 



Tremont. 1848— From Pine- 

grove. 
1818— The Hippies, Pinkertons, 
Clarks, Zimmermans. Others includ- 
ed in Pine Grove Township. Tre- 
mont means three mountains. 
Union. 1867-1818. 

Embraced in North and East Union, 
taken from Columbia and Lu- 
zerne. Frederick Lavenburg built 
log house, 1801. 
Upper Mahanton-o. 1799-1811— From 

Mahantongo. 
1780— Identified with Mahantongo 
and Eldred. Peter Klock and Al- 
exander Klinger, the former in 
1775. 
Washington. 1856— From Pine- 

grove and Wayne. 
1760 — Phillip Zcrbe, Peter Weaver, 
Peter Hetzcl, George Kremer, 
Michael Bressler and others iden- 
tified with Pine Grove Twp. 
Wayne. 1827— From Man- 

heim and Pine- 
grove. 
1775 — Egidione Moyer, Millers, Kaer- 
chers, John Apple, Schwartz, Jacob 
Merkle. Embraced in Manheim and 
Pine Grove. 
Walker. 1878— From Schuylkill 

1802 — Identified with Rush and 

Schuylkill. 
West Brunswick. 1769-1811-,34-1742 
From Brunswick. 
Paul Heim, Gottfried Orwig and 
Heinrich Miller and others. (See 
Brunswick Twp. 
West Mahanoy. 1863. From Maha- 
noy. 
Identified with Mahanoy Twp. 
West Penn. 1811— From North- 

ampton. 
1752 — Is the largest township in 
Schuylkill County. The early set- 
tlers have been previously men- 
tioned. Tobias Wehr opened a store 
here, 1780. 

Scene of Indian massacres of first 
settlers after purchase of Indian 
lands in 1768. 



148 BLUE BOOK OF 

The Early Settlers 

POPULATION IN 1810 

Brunswick Township, 1770; Pine Grove Township, 1290; 
Manheim Township, 1354 ; Lower IMahantongo Township, 637 ; 
Upper Mahantongo Township, 489; Schuylkill Township, 
353 ; Norwegian Township, . 

The first census of Pennsylvania was taken September 7, 
1 79 1, and nine hundred and ninety-three, in these townships, 
were reported as "unorganized," or as a floating population, 
many brought here, no doubt, by the discovery of coal, 1770. 

Martin Dreibelbeis settled at a point on the Schuylkill 
River, 1775, (the site of Schuylkill Haven) where he erected 
a stone grist mill, ran a farm, store and distillery. The store 
was a strongly built log building with double plank doors. It 
was called the block house and was a refuge for the settlers 
in the Indian troubles. The family lived in the block house. 
His daughter, Christina Dreibelbeis, married Benjamin Pott, 
son of John Pott. 




SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 149 

Who Was Who 



First Settlers of Schuylkill County 



NEUFERTS, WHETSTONES, POTTS 

?HERE were other settlers on the site of Pottsville before 
John Pott's advent. He was an iron master and estab- 
Hshed the forge and furnaces, in 1806, before removing' 
here, in what was known as the orchard, near the Schuylkill 
River. He was a prominent citizen and did much toward the 
early establishment of the borough. 

John Lesher, father of Maria Lesher, operated a furnace 
on Pine Creek and also a forge in Oley Township. John 
Lesher was a Deputy Wagon Master in the French and 
Indian War and a representative from Berks County to the 
Constitutional Convention, 1776, and a member of the Gen- 
eral Assembly from 1776 to 1782. The Pott and Whitney 
families, of Pottsville, are descendants of Maria, daughter of 
John Lesher, and wife of John Pott. 

Wilhelm Pott came to America, from Germany, 1734. 
He first settled in Germantown, Philadelphia, but removed 
early to Oley Township, Berks County. He died in 1767, 
leaving two children, John Wilhelm and John Pott. John^ 
Pott married Maria Hoch, 1755. John^ Pott was born 
January 16, 1759. He married Maria Lesher, July 9, 1765, 
and came to Pottsville from Oley, 1810. He laid out the 
borough, 1816, in the original plot, which included only the 
lots on each side of Centre Street, between Union and Race 
Streets, and the lots on both sides of Mahantongo as far as 
Sixth Street. He presented the lot to the borough, upon 
which the Grammar School building. North Centre Street, 
now stands, and the park in the rear, which was used as a 



I50 BLUE BOOK OF 

Who Was Who 

cemetery and upon which a log school house was built, and 
also the lot, to the church authorities, upon which St. 
Patrick's church is built. 

William Thompson, great grandfather of Lewis C. 
and William and Heber S. Thompson, deceased, of Pottsville, 
was in the war of the Revolution. He was a farmer and lived 
near Thompsontown, Dauphin County, now Juniata, which 
was named for him. Two brothers, James and John, came 
from County Antrim, Ireland, and settled, in 1730, 
near what is now Lebanon, then Lancaster County, 
and before that Chester County, removing from there to 
Dauphin County. At Thompsontown, Juniata County, there 
stands an old mill, established in 1780. In the rear of it on 
a knoll is a stone house of the Revolutionary period. Here 
Samuel Thompson, of Pottsville, father of Lewis C, Heber 
and William Thompson, was born. A great nephew and a 
great grandson of the originator of this branch of the family 
live in the old homestead and bear the family name. 

KLOCKS, CHRISTS, BRESSLERS 

John Peter Klock came to America, in 1750, with his 
parents, being then seven years old. They settled in Berks 
County, Pennsylvania, John coming to Eldred Township, in 
1793. Six generations are represented in Schuylkill County. 
Dr. H. A. Klock, of Mahanoy City, and William J., of the 
Pitman farm, are descendants. 'Squire Klock, who was one 
of the early school teachers, of Pottsville, belonged to this 
family. 

One of the early pioneers of Eldred Township, when it 
was included in Pinegrove, was John Kehler, who came 
here before 1800. Peter and Felix, of successive generations, 
lived on the same farm cleared liy their grandfather John. 
They have been a prominent and well to do family for five 
generations in Schuylkill County. 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 151 

Who Was Who 

George Werner, of Reilly Township, who died 1840, was 
a Revohitionary veteran. He was the father of Christopher 
Werner. 

Edwin Schhcher was born in Upper Hanover Township, 
Montg-omery County. He was of the fifth generation of 
Stoefel Schlicher, who came from the Palatinate, Germany, 
about 1740. His great grandfather, Henry Schlicher, served 
in the Revolutionary army. His grandfather, John, and his 
father, George, were farmers. Dr. J. H. Swaving's children 
are lineal descendants of Stoefel Schlicher. 

George Simon Bressler. born in Manheim, Germany, 
February 22, 1722, came to Pennsylvania and the Tulpehock- 
en, 1749. He died, 1802, and was buried at Hetzel's church, 
near Pinegrove. He was one of the first settlers in Pinegrove 
Township. 

Emanuel Christ came to Berks County about 1750. He 
was a Captain in the Revolutionary War, Continental Line. 
He had a son Emanuel, whose son Isaac came to Mahantongo 
Valley, about 1780, when it was included in Pinegrove Town- 
ship. He died 1837. The Christs were prominent in the 
Civil War. George M. Christ, of Ashland, and Colonel Ben- 
jamin Christ, of Minersville, were descendants of Emanuel 
Christ. 

POTTS, HELMS, HESSERS 

Peteri Helm came from the Rhine Palatinate, sailing 
from London, 1709, with the one hundred and fifty families 
for New York, who settled in Livingstone Manor. He was 
among the seventeen hundred who died shortly after landing. 
He left a son, Simon, who was the head of the Helm family 
in New York and Pennsylvania. Peter'^ D. Helms, of Potts- 
ville, is a lineal descendant of Peter^ Helm (Peter^, Peter^ 
Samuel^ Peter^ Simon^, Peteri.) Samuel* Helm removed 
from Sullivan County, New York, where the Helm home- 

(Note — The figures 1, 2, 3 denote the number of the generation. 



152 BLUE BOOK OF 

Who Was Who 

stead, erected 1715, is still in possession of one of the family, 
to Berks County, Pa., and from there migrated to Pike County, 
Pa., where Peter^ was born. The latter settled near Mc- 
Keansburg, removing subsequently to Womelsdorf and thence 
to Myerstown, Pa., where Peter*^ was born. Peter Helms, 
with his son, Peter D. Helms, of Pottsville, removed to 
Schuylkill Haven, 1852. Peter D. Helms married Elizabeth, 
daughter of Rev. Richard Edwards, a pioneer Welsh preach- 
er, by whom he had seven children. Samuel* Helm was a 
soldier in the Revolutionary War.^ 

The descendants of Simon and other children of Peter^ 
Helm are settled in Kentucky, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsyl- 
vania, New York and other states. The Helms of the fourth 
generation were numerous in the War of the Revolution. 

The Heplers, of Schuylkill County, are represented by 
five generations, in Eldred Township. They were of the 
earliest pioneers and came from Berks County, about 17S0. 

A. A. Hesser, deceased, station agent at Schuylkill Haven, 
was a son of Henry Hesser, and a direct descendant of Fred- 
erick Hesser, a drummer boy in the Revolutionary War, buried 
in St. John's cemetery, Orwigsburg, Pennsylvania. 

The Potts family came to Philadelphia, about 1682, emi- 
grating from England with William Penn. John Potts was 
born there. His son Thomas married Elizabeth Luken, 1750. 
He was a member of the Continental Congress, 1775. His 
son, Hugh H. Potts, was born in New Jersey, 1773. He was 
the father of George H. Potts and an officer in the first 
United States Army. In 1800 he married Elizabeth, daughter 
of Captain John Hughes, who was in the Revolutionary War 
during the entire struggle. George H. Potts was born in 
Delaware, 181 1, and removed to Pottsville, 1829, where he 
engaged in mining operations. Pie married a daughter of 
George M. Gumming, a sister of Attorney Benjamin Cum- 



(Note 1 — Pension Certificate and army record, Bureau of Pensions.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 153 

Who Was Who 

ming, Sr., and of Mrs. G. W. Snyder. He removed to New 
York, 1853, where he died. Joseph Harris, deceased, Presi- 
dent of the Philadelphia and Reading- Railway Company, a 
former resident, was married to two of his daughters. George 
Potts, of Pottsville, now of New York, was a son of George 
H. Potts. 

William Audenried, son of Lewis Audenried, who emi- 
grated from Switzerland, 1789, to Kutztown, Berks County, 
about 1810, was elected to the State Senate, 1824, having 
served as a Justice of the Peace for Brunswick Township for 
five years and as a member of the Legislature for two terms. 
To him is accredited having said, in that body, that "Schuyl- 
kil County had no coal, only a lot of black stone in its soil." 

John Macomb Wetherill removed to Pottsville, from 
Philadelphia, 1846, at the age of eighteen years, engaging in 
the management of coal lands for the Wetherill family, who 
were large owners. His great grandfather, Samuel Wetherill, 
was a Quaker but discarded his religious tenets at the break- 
ing out of the Revolutionary War and was at the head of the 
sect known as the Free or Fighting Quakers. He was never 
married and died in Pottsville, 1884. 

Francis Wade Hughes, Attorney at Law, was born in 
Montgomery County, 1817. His father, John Hughes, was 
one of the family of that name who came over with the Penns. 
His mother was the daughter of Benjamin Bartholomew, who 
was a Captain of Cavalry during the Revolutionary W^ar. 

John Hofifman cime from the vicinity of Heidelberg, 
Germany, about 1740 and settled in Lancaster County, after- 
ward Dauphin, 1785. His wife was of Huguenot stock 
and six generations inter-married with the descendants of 
those who had left Alsace and Lorraine after the edict of 
Nantes was revoked. Peter, of the second generation, was a 
Revolutionary soldier. The paternal names of John and Pe- 
ter have alternated all along the line to the present bearer 



154 BLUE BOOK OF 

Who Was Who 

of the name, John R. Hoffman, formerly Assistant Manager 
of the Philadelphia and Reading- Coal and Iron Company, 
whose maternal ancestor was named Boyer, (Beyer). Other 
Hoffmans of the same family were in the War of the Revo- 
lution. 

Henry Kuhl Nichols, d., late chief engineer of the Read- 
ing Railway, was born in Pottsville, August 24, 1830; wife, 
Sarah C. Donaldson. They had one daughter, Clara, d., wife 
of R. E. Tucker. Henry Nichols' great grandfather was 
Michael Hillegas, Colonial Secretary and first Treasurer of 
the United States. Both of his grandfathers were officers in 
the Revolutionary War. Gen. Francis Nichols, his grand- 
father, was presented with a sword by General Washington, 
the sword is now in possession of a nephew. His father, 
Lieut. F. B. Nichols of the U. S. Navy, was active in the war 
of 1812, and died from the effects of wounds received on board 
the Chesapeake, commanded by Captain Lawrence at the 
time he was killed. Mr. Nichols' brother. Gen. W. A. Nichols, 
served with distinction in the Mexican and Civil Wars, and 
a nephew. Major Nichols, was in the Spanish War and sta- 
tioned at Manila. Mr. Nichols resided in Pottsville until 1883 
when he removed to Philadelphia, where he died. 

THE MORRIS ANCESTRY 

The Morris' are descended from Richard Morris, who 
came from England and settled in Westchester County, 
New York. He obtained a land grant of three thousand acres 
from Governor Fletcher, with manorial rights. He died 1673, 
leaving a son, Lewis, who became Chief Justice of New 
York, and subsequently Governor of New Jersey. From 
him is descended a representative of the Colonial Congress 
and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Henry 
Morris, of Philadelphia, prominent in Schuylkill County's 
early coal business, and after whom Morris Addition, Potts- 
ville, was named; and Richard, John and Samuel Morris, 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 155 

Who Was Who 

deceased, of Pottsville, claimed descent from Richard Mor- 
ris. Robert Morris, Mrs. G. W. Kennedy, Mrs. George 
Hoffman and others, of Pottsville, are descendants. 
Mrs. John Morris, Mrs. Samuel Thompson and Mrs. Morri- 
son, mother of N. C. Morrison, were sisters, their family name 
being Cunningham. They were from Juniata County. 

Henry Aurand, of Huguenot ancestry, left Alsace, 
France when Louis XIV issued the revocation of the edict 
of Nantes and went to Holland, 1685, from where he removed 
to Heidelberg, Germany. At Dillenberg, a son, John, was 
born, September 2, 1725. In 1753 John came to Pennsylvania, 
settling at Maiden Creek, Berks County, October 2. He was 
married three times and was the father of seven children, 
Henry, Daniel and Jacob were born in Germany; Peter, 
George, Dietrich and Elizabeth, in America. Peter was the 
great grandfather of Aquilla Aurand, of Tamaqua. Mrs. Mary 
Heilner and Mrs. Caroline Carter, of Tamaqua, were among 
the daughters. Henry K. Aurand was born in Sunbury, 1833. 
Daniel Aurand, cabinet maker, deceased, of Pottsville, belong- 
ed to the family. 

Prof. Livingstone Seltzer, County Superintendent of 
Public Schools in Schuylkill County is a lineal descendant of 
Balthasar Bock, of Brunswick Township, in the Revolution- 
ary War. On the paternal side he is descended from a sol- 
dier for the British Crown in that war. 

MARLON BOYER, GULDIN, COLEMAN 

The Heebners, of Port Carbon, are descendants of 
George Heebner, of Montgomery County, a Revolutionary 
War soldier. He came to this county in 1816 and lived on 
a farm near the site of the County Home, where he conducted 
a mill. His son, Abraham Heebner, came to Port Carbon, in 
1829, and was regarded as the founder of that place, being 
prominently identified with all its early affairs. 



5 BLUE BOOK OF 

Who Was Who 

Peter Brown was a native of Alsace, France. He came 
to America and settled in Virginia before the Revolutionary 
War, in which he was engaged from the beginning to the end 
as a teamster, hauling supplies from Philadelphia to Vir- 
ginia. He settled in Berks County, where his son, grandfather 
of P. J. Brown, of Reiner City, Schuylkill County, was born. 

Cal. Brower, of Tremont, was a native of Berks County. 
The old Brower homestead, near Douglassville, was m pos- 
session of the Browers, in 1750. 

Mahlon Boyer, of Pinegrove, was born near Reading. 
His great great grandfather removed there from near Phila- 
delphia about 1750. His grandfather, when seven years old, 
was captured by the Indians and then taken up the Susque- 
hanna River. He was retained in captivity until sixteen 
years of age when he escaped. His son William was born in 
Reading, in 1800. (Indian Forts, Vol. I.) 

Dr. B. C. Guldin, of Minersville, was the great great 
grandson of Daniel Guldin, of Oley Township, Berks County, 
who came to that region about 1760, from Switzerland. His 
grandfather was Benjamin C, who lived near Womelsdorf, 
where his father, Benjamin H., was born. 

The great grandfather of Samuel and William Mortimer, 
the former a Borough Treasurer of Pottsville, settled in 
Robeson Township, Berks County, prior to 1770, where he 
and his wife died. The family removed to the vicinity of 
Port Clinton, from where they went to different points. 

The children were: William, George, unmarried; John, 

d.' St. Louis ; Andrew and three daughters, Lydia, m. 

Scull and settled at Johnstown; one da., m., Pullman; 

Asbury Mortimer, of Pottsville. was a descendant of the above 
family. Andrew Mortimer was Chief Burgess of Pottsville 
and a member of Council. His children were : Nelson, Samuel, 
Borough Treasurer; Asher, Mrs. Hannah Stevens, Port Car- 
bon ; Mrs. Mary Kantner, and Andrew, Jr., who settled in Salt 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY iS7 

Who Was Who 

Lake City and became a Mormon. William Mortimer, Sr., 
was a member of the Legislature, 1838, and County Commis- 
sioner, 1833. 

William Mortimer — Sons: William, Michael, Washing- 
ton, Morgan. William kept the White Horse Hotel. His 
sons later conducted the old Mortimer House, corner of 
Centre and West Norwegian Streets, William and Washing- 
ton both engaging in the mercantile business for many years 
after their retirement from the hotel. The children of Wil- 
liam Mortimer were : Charles, George Wesley, both deceased, 
Horace, jeweler ; Frank, dry goods merchant, and Gilmour. 
The daughters were: Mrs. Tillie Engle, Mrs. Fannie Robin- 
son, deceased, Mrs. Emma Muir, deceased, and Mrs. Susan 
Palmer. 

Mrs. Heber S. Zerbey, a daughter of Samuel Mortimer, 
has in her possession the Mortimer family coat of arms, an 
original armorial (bearing) of the date of looi A. D., which 
was brought to America by the first Mortimer, who came 
from England, 1685, and settled in Boston, Massachusetts, 
where he died and is buried. He is said to have been the 
grandfather of the only Mortimer who settled in Berks 
County. 

Cornelius Coleman, of Llewellyn, is the great great great 
grandson of Carl Coleman, who settled in Louisiana, in 1704, 
then a French Province. Flis grandfather was born in Berks 
County, where the family removed and later to Dauphin 
County. His great grandfather, John, was a Revolutionary 
soldier under Lafayette. He died in Lykens, 1839. 

Daniel DeFrehn was born near where Tuscarora stands, 
1791. His parents w^ere Huguenots and came to America 
and settled in Berks County, from where they removed to 
near what is now New Philadelphia, Schuylkill County, in 
1790. He removed to Orwigsburg where he settled and raised 
a large family, working at his trade of carpenter and con- 



158 BLUE BOOK OF 

Who Was Who 

tractor. Of his five sons, Joseph and Daniel, father of George 
DeFrehn, cashier of the Miners' National Bank, of Pottsville, 
both were prominent and well known citizens. 

William Koch was born in Philadelphia, 1747, but settled 
in Oley Township and in Womelsdorf, Berks County. He 
removed to Brunswick Township, where he operated what 
is since known as Kunkle's saw mill. His son, Henry, was 
the father of Mrs. Charles T. Bowen, deceased. He was 
married to a daughter of Balthaser Bock. His son, Daniel, 
father of Richard, was a member of the State Legislature, 
i860. 

Balthaser Bock was born, in 1746, in Aide Hassan Graf- 
schaft, Hanan, Germany. He came to this country, 1754, 
with his father, the latter engaging in the French and Indian 
War, 1755. The family settled in Windsor Township, Berks 
County. Balthasar was sold to a farmer near Pinegrove to 
pay his passage. Serving his time he rejoined the family on 
the other side of the Blue Mountains. Although a lame man, 
he served in the Revolutionary War. He settled in McKeans- 
burg, where he died, 1827, and is buried there. He was a man 
of remarkable energy and has many descendants in Schuyl- 
kill County. Baltzer Bock bought a tract of land, 1791, 
from Peter Orwig for eight hundred and fifty pounds. It 
was part of the original John Webb tract, patented 1750, 
situated near what is now McKeansburg. 

Franklin P. Weiser, of Ashland, and James Weiser, of 
Minersville, also the Weiser's formerly of Orwigsburg, now 
of Ohio, are lineal descendants of Conrad Weiser. 

William Donaldson, grandfather of William Donaldson, 
of Pottsville, served in the Revolutionary War from North- 
umberland County. He is buried in the Baber cemetery, 
Pottsville, his remains having been removed here from Dan- 
ville. 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 159 

Who Was Who 

Isaac DeTurck settled on the Qtiassick Creek, Duchess 
County, New York, emigrating from the Rhine with the 
twelve hundred Palatines, 1709-1710, as a husbandman at the 
age of twenty-three and unmarried. He left New York, 171 1, 
and settled with the little band of Huguenots in Oley Town- 
ship, Berks County, 1712. The Hocks and Yoders took up 
land here, in the Penn Grants, about the same time. De- 
scendants of the Hoy family, in Berks and Schuylkill, 
are from this branch of the Hochs, the name in the original 
having frequently been spelled "Hoy" and this spelling has 
been retained by some of the family. Samuel DeTurck, d., 
of Friedensburg, was a direct descendant of Isaac DeTurck. 

Ulrich Heiser lived at Focht's Forge, near McKeansburg, 
about 1780. He was the son of Ulrich Heiser, of Oley Town- 
ship. He removed to Manheim Township, near the site of 
Schuylkill Haven, where George, the father of Veterinary 
Surgeon Edward Heiser, deceased, Sy years of age, was born, 
as was also his father. 

Christian Luther settled in Lancaster County, 1751. 
Diller Luther, with two brothers, all doctors, came from 
there to Orwigsburg but returned to Reading, where the 
former practised from 1832 to 1838. Diller Luther entered 
the coal business, in which he was engaged for a quarter of 
a century. His brothers, John and Martin Luther, practised 
medicine and were prominent in their profession. John 
died at Harrisburg, 181 1. Martin Luther, of Reading, was a 
very successful surgeon. Roland Luther, deceased, of Potts- 
ville, General Manager of the Philadelphia and Reading Coal 
and Iron Company, who married Theresa Yuengling, was of 
this family, a son of Peter Luther. 

Hans Jacob Neuferdt came to America from Wurtem- 
burg on the ship Nancy, September 27, 1752, and took the 
oath of allegiance at Philadelphia. His son, Johan Jacob, 
born 1765, came to Rush Township, Schuylkill County, 1797, 



i6o BLUE BOOK OF 

Who Was Who 

then Northampton County. He had a son, John Jacob, whose 
sons were : Peter, George and John. They were of the earli- 
est settlers in Rush Township. 

The Whetstones were other early settlers of Schuylkill 
County. Isaac Whetstone (Whetstine) was a Captain in the 
Revolutionary army. He was the progenitor of the Whet- 
stones, of Tamaqua, and came to America from Wurtemburg, 
Germany. (Revolutionary War. second part.) He was one 
of the earliest settlers and original owners of land near Mc- 
Keansburg. 

John George Huntsinger came from Rotterdam, 1743, to 
Berks County, immigrating to Hegins Township, then Pine- 
grove Township, about 1780. He was the grandfather of 
Prof. Emanuel Huntsinger, of Plartford, Conn., and has a 
numerous line of descendants in Hegins, all prosperous and 
well known. 

D. B. Green was born in Reading. His parents were 
John and Catharine Bright Green. He was admitted to the 
Bar and began practice in Schuylkill County, where he was 
appointed Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, 1871, and 
elected Additional Law Judge, 1881. He died in 1892. Wil- 
liam Green, grandfather of Judge D. B. Green, 1810, owned 
a tract of land near McKeansburg, where he lived for a time 
subsequently removing to Orwigsburg, where he kept the 
Rising Sun Hotel in the big square, and removed from there 
to Reading. 

JOHN R. AND BENJAMIN B. BANNAN 

Benjamin^ Bannan, born near Belfast, Ireland, March ly, 
1770, died near Molatton, Pa., October. 1816. He was a far- 
mer in summer and taught school in winter. The old Swede 
church was used as a school house and here Francis Rawn 
Shunk, Governor, i845-'48, of Pennsylvania, also taught 
school. His wife was Sarah , born April 12, 1762 ; died 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY i6i 

Who Was Who 

November 20, 1825. Both are buried in the Episcopal ceme- 
tery, Douglassville. Their children were: Abraham, a school 
teacher in Union Township, Berks County, who studied law 
and removed to Orwigsburg, where he practised for a time. 
Benjamin^ Bannan (Benjamin^), also taught school before 
he learned the trade of printer with former Congressman Getz, 
at Reading, on the Reading "Gazette." Benjamin^ Bannan 
purchased the Pottsville "Miner's Journal," 1829. He was 
thrice married and left two daughters. A daughter of Ben- 
jamin^ was married to Dr. George Douglass, of Orwigsburg. 

John^ R. Bannan (Benjamin^), born September 19, 1796, 
located at Orwigsburg and was admitted to the Schuylkill 
County Bar, 1818. He was a soldier in the War of 1812. He 
made a study of the land laws, acquiring title to valuable coal 
lands. He removed with his family to Pottsville about 1850, 
from the large red brick mansion, in the big square, Orwigs- 
burg, now owned by Solomon Moyer, to his newly 
erected old colonial mansion, Cloud Home, on Sharp Moun- 
tain, still occupied by members of the family, where he died 
May 3, 1868. He made the plans for the Orwigsburg Acad- 
emy, completed 1813, and supervised its erection and pre- 
sented the ground to the Borough on which was erected 
the Henry Clay Monument. He married Sarah Ann Ridg- 
way, born December 31, 1806, who died November, 1879. 
Their children were : Thomas R. and Douglass R., both 
graduates of Yale College, the former a prominent lawyer, 
wf ., Alice Johnson ; the latter entered the U. S. navy ; Zelia 
R., Francis B.. Mary J. and Martha R., all deceased with the 
exception of the latter and Francis B. Bannan, who married 
Mary T., daughter of George Reppelier, an individual coal 
operator, of Pottsville. They had six children, four of whom 
are living. 

Daniel Yoder was born in Oley, Berks County, 1789. 
His father, Peter Yoder, was an early settler. The former 
removed to Pottsville before it was erected as a borough and 



i62 BLUE BOOK OF 

Who Was Who 

lived on the brow of the hill, now the corner of East Nor- 
wegian and Wolf Streets. He was an inventive genius and 
took out a patent upon a pump which had a large sale before 
hydrants came into general use. William L. Yoder, of Maha- 
noy City, deceased, who removed to Virginia, was a grandson 
of Peter Yoder and son of Daniel. George Yoder settled 
in Eldred Township prior to 1809. He had a son William 
and his sons were Abraham and Nathan. George Yoder came 
from Oley, Berks County. 

Dr. George K. Binkley, of Orwigsburg, was born in Berks 
County, where his father, Benneville, was born, 1818. His 
grandfather, Henry, was an early Sherifif of Berks County. 

EARLY SETTLERS, WHO THEY WERE 

Peter Dreher came to this county with the earliest 
settlers. He was the great grandfather of Dr. C. B. Dreher, 
of Tamaqua. Drehersville was named for him and the de- 
scendants of that family. He was a native of Austria and on 
coming to this country served in the Revolutionary War and 
was wounded at the battle of Brandywine. Mrs. Arthur Shay, 
wife of a late Judge of the Schuylkill Courts, is a descendant. 

John R. Dielim, deceased, was of Revolutionary stock. 
His great great grandfather settled in the Shenandoah Val- 
ley, Virginia, with the early Palatines. His son, William, 
was born there, 1764. The family removed to Reading, 1780, 
where William was appointed Sheriff. 

^ohn Springer was the maternal great grandfather of the 
late Jesse Turner, of Port Carbon. He served three years 
in the Revolutionary War and was at the surrender of Lord 
Cornwallis, at Yorktown. The family lived in Delaware. 

Alexander S. Faust, deceased, was the son of Samuel 
Faust, of Bern Township. His great grandfather came to 
this country, 1776. He was a soldier for the British crown. 
He became a prosperous farmer and had a numerous progeny. 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 163 

Who Was Who 

Henry Bast came to Manheim Township from Berks 
County, where he was born, 1818. Jeremiah F. is a son and 
the third generation are now living in Schuylkill County and 
are prosperous citizens. 

Michael Hoppes was born, 1752, in West Penn Township, 
when it was a part of Northampton County. He was a Revo- 
lutionary soldier and lived, died and is buried there. A large 
number of descendants from his son, Christian, are settled 
in that county. 

John W. Roseberry, Sr., was admitted to the Berks 
County Bar in 181 1. He removed to Orwigsburg, where his 
son, John, Jr., was born and where after his death his widow 
conducted a private school for girls. The latter, John W. 
Roseberry, was admitted to the Schuylkill County Bar and 
was a prominent citizen of Pottsville. 

The Matz's were of the earliest settlers in Brunswick 
Township. William Matz, a Sheriff of Schuylkill Coun- 
ty, in 1855, was born 1801. William J. Matz was born in 
1838, the latter was elected Sheriff in 1877. There were five 
generations of this family in this locality, near McKeansburg. 
Mrs. Thomas Walker, Mrs. Sarah Bartholomew, Mrs. Kate 
Bender, d., Mrs. Jesse Drumheller and others, of Pottsville, are 
of the family from Brunswick. George Matz, an ancestor, 
was in the Revolutionary War. 

LINDEMUTH 

Michael Lindemuth and brother, Wolfe, came from the 
German Palatinate to Berks County, September 22, 1752, lo- 
cating in Windsor Township. Colonel Lindemuth is known 
on his tombstone and in the Pennsylvania Archives as, John 
Michael, and as Michael, in the Revolutionary War records. 

Michael Lindemuth married Marie Eva Noecker, June 
17, 1760. 



i64 BLUE BOOK OF 

Who Was Who 

(Stoever's records : — Martin Noecker's will^, says : 
"To the children of my deceased daughter, Eve, wife of 
Michael Lindemiith, I give and bequeath," etc. (These 
children were the two sons of Colonel Michael Lindemuth 
referred to as drummer boys in the Revolutionary War.^) 

Michael Lindemuth was married three times. His 
second wife was Catharine Gerschwein (Geschwein.) The 
will of Margaret, widow of Eberhardt "Geschweid," of Bern 
Township, as recorded says : 'T give and bequeath my daugh- 
ter, Catharine, wife of Michael Lindemuth." 

There are no children mentioned in Michael Linde- 
muth's will, probated October 25, 1785, by his only brother, 
Wolfe Lindemuth, of Bern Township, the widow Anna 
Maria, renouncing. 

The will of Wolfe Lindemuth shows he had no issue. 

Colonel Michael Lindemutlr^ died suddenly while 
enroute to the seat of government to collect a claim 
he held against it for a large sum of money ad- 
vanced to the commissary department for supplies for 
the men in his command. His mysterious death is a 
matter of history. Jacob Lindemuth, deceased, landlord of 
the Exchange and other Pottsville hotels, frequently related 
"how his great grandfather was found dead beside his faithful 
horse, who stood watch over him and that his saddle bags 
had been rifled of these claims by unknown persons." 
Michael Lindemuth died October, 1785. 

(Note 1 — Pennsylvania Historical Society, Philadelphia, Book 365, 
p. 521.) 

(Note 2 — Revolutionary War Records, Part 1.) 

(Note 3 — Revolutionary War Record, Part 1.) 

(Note — The figures above the surname denote the number of the 
generation.. The abbreviations commonly used in genealogical tables are: 
da., daughter; bap., baptized; g. f. grandfather; m., married; rec, rec- 
ords; g. g. f., great grandfather; wf., wife; spon., sponsor; g. g. g. f., 
great, great grandfather. 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 165 

Who Was Who 

The two sons of Michael Lindemuth, above referred to 
as drummer boys, lived in Bern Township ; their records, 
however, have not been discovered in the old Bernville 
church but are doubtless in one of the Windsor Township 
churches where Michael first settled. John Jacob removed 
to Hamburg-, the other son remained in Bern Township. 

John- Jacob Lindemuth (Michael,^ wife Maria Eva 
Noecker), born 1766, died 1839; wife Catharine Boyer, born 
1768, died 1S51. He was one of the drummer boys referred 
to in the Revolutionary War records. He settled at Ham- 
burg, where he followed farming, and raised a family of 
sixteen children : George, Henry, Daniel, Joseph, Thomas, 
William, other sons and a number of daughters, Mrs. Jane 
Davis, Lewistown, Mifflin County (no issue), Mrs. Catharine 
Crosland, Mrs. Cooper, Mrs. Hannah Kepner, Mrs. Sarah 
Jennings, Mrs. Susan Gager, of Pottsville, deceased, were 
descendants of a son of this man who lived near Tamaqua. 

William" Lindemuth, (John- Jacob, Michael^, wife 

Elizabeth Cake), issue: Susan, married Spangler; 

Romanus ; Matilda, married L Wolfe ; Caroline, married J. 
Valentine ; and William. He lived at Hamburg and followed 
the occupation of shoemaker and locktender. 

William^ Lindemuth, settled at Stouchsburg, Berks 
County; born March 22, 1820; died October 10, 1887; wife 
Mary Brendle, born April 10, 1824; died July 4, 1857; children: 
Clara, Charles L, Elizabeth, William Johan, Edward and 
Samuel. Charles I. Lindemuth and brothers are cigar mak- 
ers and work at the factory established by Reilly Zerbe, retired. 
Charles is an antiquarian and has a large collection of antiques 
at his home in that place. He and Samuel are unmarried. 
Charles Lindemuth is the maker of the map of the early 
settlers of 1723, in this volume. One of the sons married a 
Rieth (Reed) and has several children. She belongs to 



i66 BLUE BOOK OF 

Who Was Who 

the historical family, whose heads came over 1710, and settled 
at Stouchsburg. 

2 Lindemuth (second son of Michael Lindemuth 

and wife Eve Noecker; drummer boy in Revolutionary war) ; 
children: William, Samuel, Jacob and Maria. 

William^ Lindemuth, ( ^, Michael^), born at 

Bernville, 1799; wife Rachael of Scotch descent; children: 
Susan, William J. (formerly of Minersville, a merchant), Hen- 
rietta, James, Zacharia, Samuel, Mary and Jerome. Mary 
died in Philadelphia, aged 85 years, as did also Henrietta. 
They lived at 1427 North 57th Street. 

Rev. Jerome'' Lindemuth, (William^, ^ Linde- 
muth, Michael^) a Methodist minister; born June 7, 1831, at 
Stouchsburg, Berks County ; wife Caroline Holmes Stuart, 
daughter of George Stuart, of Ireland ; children : Carrie S. 
Mitchell, Glenolden, Pa. ; Mary F. Hewes, Chester, Pa. ; Wil- 
liam Holmes. 

Rev. William^ H. Lindemuth, D. D., pastor of the 
Methodist Episcopal church, Pottsville, Pa. ; born at Reading 
and reared at Lebanon, (Jerome*, William^, ^ Linde- 
muth, Michael^); wife Emma Thomas Karcher; children: 
Emma K., Caroline S., deceased ; Edmund K., George H. 

Jacob'* Lindemuth, a former landlord of the Exchange 
and other hotels of Pottsville, deceased, was born near Wom- 

elsdorf, Berks County. ( , John^ Jacob, Michael^.) 

His father settled in Northumberland County, from where the 
family removed to near New Castle where they kept hotel. 
The children of Jacob and Eleanor Lindemuth were : Elea- 
nor, widow of Samuel Keiter ; Anna G. and Clara A., a son 
and daughter, deceased. Mary, wife of George Moll, of Potts- 
ville, daughter of Ella and Samuel Keiter, has one son. 

Joseph'* Lindenmuth, (Daniel^, John Jacob^, Mich- 
ael^) ; born June 4, 1816; died April 16, 1901 ; wife Re- 
becca Heisler, of Lewistown (Tuyful's Loch) ; born November 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 167 

Who Was Who 

4, 1818; died January 22, 1878. She was the daughter of Jacob 
and Susanna Heisler. Joseph Lindenmuth was a teamster 
and owned his own teams doing- hauling for contractors and 
working about the mines. He removed to Pottsville about 
1845, where they raised a large family; children: Sarah and 
Ella, deceased ; William, Charles, Sybilla and Annie. 

Wm. Lindenmuth, wife Rebecca Speacht ; children: 
Theodore, Howard, a daughter deceased, and William, Jr., 
who married Rachael Jenkins ; children : Edward, Louise, 
Anna, Eleanora, single. 

Charles Lindenmuth, wife Levina Jenkins ; children : 
Mamie, single; Warren, deceased, and Gertrude, wife of 
James Mullen, one child, Dorothy. 

Sybilla Lindenmuth, wife of Valentine Glassmire ; first 
husband, George Rogers ; children of the latter : George, sin- 
gle ; Lillian, wife of Lyde Garnet. The children of Valentine 
Glassmire: Verna. 

Annie Lindenmuth, wife of Lehman Walters; children: 
Harry, married to Mary Evans; children: Harry, James, 
Kenneth, Ellsworth and Anna, single; Lulu, married to Roy 
Yeager, no children. 

Howard (William Sr.), wife Katie Collins; children: 
Conrad and George. 

Theodore (William Sr.), wife Mary Weiss; children: 
Florence, May, Frances, Dora. 

Florence (Theodore), wife of Charles Pettit ; children: 
Newton. 

The ship records also show that three other Lindemuths 
came to Berks County, Pa., 1749. Hans, William and, per- 
haps, a Jacob or Michael, but no trace of these men has been 
found. 



i68 BLUE BOOK OF 

Who Was Who 

THE BRAUN— BROWN FAMILY 

John Brown (Braun), wife Catharine, came from the 
Palatinate, Germany, to this country, October 20, 1752, on 
the ship Duke, Daniel Montpelier, Captain, (Ship Lists). He 
settled in Berks County, north of the Blue Mountain, in one 
of the fertile valleys between what is now the Summit and 
Auburn, Schuylkill County. 

He was a veterinary surgeon. He had three sons : John, 
John Adam and John George. His signature to a deed to 
this land, 1804, is recorded in the Berks County court house. 
The Black Horse Hotel, Wayne Township, which has been in 
possession of the Brown family for several generations, 
stands upon part of the original tract. There is no record 
of the date of his death. His name appears on the original 
list of subscribers to the St. Paul's Lutheran and Reformed 
Church, South Manheim Township, (Summer Berg), as hav- 
ing given ten shillings to the erection of this church, 1782, 
and he and his wife are buried here among the many unmarked 
and unknown graves. 

The Braims were Huguenots and left Alsace and Lor- 
raine after the revocation of the edict of Nantes. They were 
of the Reformed faith. 

The father, John^ and two sons, John- and John^ 
Adam were in the Revolutionary War. On his return John 
Adam brought with him a twelve pound cannon ball which 
is a relic in the Brown family today. 

Jacob's church records, near Pinegrove, show Johann 
Braun to have stood sponsor with his wife Catharine, June 
24, 1804. Other records are : 

(Note — A Phillip Braun came to New York 1709-1710. 
He and his wife were sponsors, in Schoharie, for Conrad 
Weiser's first child and son, September 7, 1722. He settled 
in Berks County, 1723. Phillip Braun (Pioneer Homesteads, 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 169 

Who Was Who 

map), one of the signers for the road, 1727, came to Tulpe- 
hocken Township, 1723. When Conrad Weiser came (1729) 
he took up a tract of land adjoining Braun's.) 

Braun — Margaretha, baptized April 14, 1805. Parents 
Johann and Elizabeth. They buried a son, born January 14, 
1819, aged I month, 25 days. Another child of the same par- 
ents was baptized December 25, 1808. 

Johann^ Braun is supposed to have died 1804. 

Johann^ Braun, born November 12, 1756, died De- 
cember 13, 1838. He is buried in the Dreisbach cemetery, 
Union County, Pennsylvania. 

Prof. Robert Braun, of Pottsville, of the Braun School of 
Music, of Ptittsville and Reading, is a descendant of Johann^ 
Braun ; Robert^ Braun ; (Charles^ Theodore, Charles", Johann^, 
Johann^.) 

John^ Adam Brown, born February 2, 1759; died Au- 
gust 3, 1837, and is buried in St. Paul's Summer Hill ceme- 
tery. His son, Valentine, born February 8, 1783; died August 
26, 1857. He was the owner of the Black Horse Hotel and 
to him is attributed the founding of a public school in Wayne 
and South Manheim Townships. 

In 1829 a young teacher, Christian Meyer, from Stras- 
burg, Germany, came to the hotel and stated his vocation to 
the proprietor, Valentine Brown. There was then no school 
in that section of the county and Mr. Brown said : "I will 
give you board and lodging free in my house if you stay here 
and open a school." The young man accepted the offer, Mr. 
Brown went to see his neighbors and the result was a little 
log school house on Summer Hill, four miles south of 
Brown's, and an equal distance west from the Summit, 
where a small private school was opened. George Brown, 
brother of Valentine, donated the ground, on the crest of 
Summer Hill, and also donated material for the building. 
Christian Meyers taught school in these townships, public 



170 BLUE BOOK OF 

Who Was Who 

and private, for forty-one years. He was the organist of the 
Summer Hill Church and also followed the occupation of 
farmer. 

W."* W. Brown, a prominent citizen of that part of 
Schuylkill County, and an elder of St. Paul's Church, married 
a daughter of Christian Meyers, who died October 25, 1910, 
leaving no issue. W.** W. Brown, (Valentine', John^ Adam, 
Johni.) 

FILBERT FAMILY 

John Samuel Philbert, born January 8, 1710; died Sep- 
tember 25, 1786. His name occurs on the ship lists, ship 
Samuel, from Rotterdam, August 30, 1737, from Wittenberg, 
Saxonyi; ^vife Susanna, born March 10, 1704, died Jan- 
uary 4, 1771. He had five sons and three daughters: John 
Thomas, born February i, 1737; died November 8, 1784; 
married Catharine Potteiker ; Maria Caterina, married to John 
Heinrich Ache; Anne Elizabeth, married to John Heinrich 
Weber; (tombstone inscription at Host's, John Heinrich 
Weber, b. November 28, 1735, in Hochstadt, Germany; d. 
April 10, 181 5; Elizabeth Weber, geborn Filbert, December 
6, T741, d. February 7, 1813. Captain in Revolutionary War.) 

John Phillip Filbert, born December 7, 1743, (Captain in 
the War of the Revolution), married to Anna Maria Meyer; 
died August 30, 1817. John Peter, born August 22, 1746; 
married Polly Ludwig; Maria Christina, married Jost Ruth. 

Captain John^ Phillip Filbert, (John^ Samuel), who 
kept an old time tavern near Bernville, had three 
children: Samuel, born 1770, died 1795; John Filbert and a 
daughter, Catharine, married to William Machimer. John 
Filbert was the progenitor of the Womelsdorf branch and his 
son, Samuel, was the father of P. K. Filbert, D. D. S., of 
Pottsville. 



(Note 1 — Pennsylvania Archives, Second Series, Vol. 17, pp. 131, 133.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 171 

Who Was Who 

SamueF Filbert, ancestor of the Pinegrove branch, had 
two children: Joseph, and Peter Filbert, born 1794, wife 
Elizabeth Standt, daughter of Phillip Staudt. Peter's children 
were: Samuel P., Edward T., Peter A., William H., of Pine- 
grove ; John A., of Schuylkill Haven ; daughters, Leah, wife 
of Dr. John Kitzmiller; Sarah, wife of Richard Musser, and 
Rebecca, wife of F. W. Conrad, editor for many years of the 
"Lutheran Observer." J. H. Filbert, attorney-at-law, of 
Pottsville, is a son of John A., and a great great grandson of 
Captain Phillip Filbert. 

WEIDMANS, KREBS, TYSONS 

Major John Weidman was born in Lancaster County, 
1756. He served in the Continental line in the Revolutionary 
War. Dr. Murray Weidman, of Reading; Judge Mason Weid- 
man and Barge Weidman, of Pottsville, all deceased, were de- 
scendants. 

Jacob Krebs was born in Long Swamp, Berks County, and 
came to Manheim Township before 1800. He owned part of 
the farm upon which the Schuylkill County Almshouse now 
stands. The family attended church at Zion's (Red Church) 
and it is related that it being the nearest and about five miles 
distant, the family repaired thither on the Sabbath in a cart 
drawn by oxen. This was no uncommon occurrence. Many 
of the roads were nothing more than bridle paths through the 
forests and horse back riding was not possible to the infirm 
or aged. As late as i860 lumber hauling in some parts of 
Schuylkill County was done by oxen teams. The Krebs, of 
Schuylkill County are descendants of this family. 

The Medlars are of Huguenot stock and settled in Berks 
County about 1760. Daniel Medlar came to Hamburg before 
1800. He is supposed to have been a son of George Medlar 
(Revolutionary War Record.) Dr. S. Medlar, of Orwigsburg, 
was an early settler. The Medlars, of McKeansburg, Drehers- 



172 BLUE BOOK OF 

Who Was Who 

ville, Pottsville and Mahanoy City are all of this branch. 
James A. Medlar, Vice President of the Schuylkill Trust Com- 
pany, Pottsville, is a descendant. 

Henry Auman came to this country as a British soldier, 
for the British crown. Pie was taken prisoner by General 
Washington at Trenton, New Jersey, and after the Revolu- 
tionary War settled in Amity Township, Berks County. He 
was the great grandfather of the late Samuel and Lieutenant 
William Auman, of Pottsville, the latter of the United States 
army, retired and livirvg in New York. 

Daniel Dreibelbeis came from Hammesthal, Germany, 
1740, settling in Richmond Township. His sons were Daniel, 
Abraham, Jacob and Martin. The latter came from Moselem, 
Berks County, to what is now Schuylkill Plaven and was its 
first permanent settler. One of the sons was married to 
Catharine "Markel," daughter of George Merkle, a leading 
pioneer in Richmond Township, who settled there about the 
above date and took out a patent for one thousand acres of 
land. 

Cornelius Tyson came from England, about 1683, and 
was one of the first settlers of Germantown. He belonged 
to the Society of Friends. His tombstone, the oldest in Ger- 
mantown, gives his age as sixty-three years and the date of 
his death as 17 16. 

Another branch of the family name came from the Rhine 
Palatinate, they were German Menonites and neither line en- 
gaged in the early wars, their religious principles forbidding it. 

Cornelius and Hannah Smith Tyson's marriage is re- 
corded, March 30, 1751. They lived in Montgomery County, 
then Chester, where Joseph Tyson was born, February 16, 
1751. Dr. Henry Tyson, of Reading, was born 1815. He 
was a Professor in the University of Pennsylvania, Phila- 
delphia. Henry Tyson, had a brother Cornelius, who died at 
the age of twenty-five years. Captain Tyson was an Arctic 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 173 

Who Was Who 

explorer. The large Berks Comity family of this name, and 
Cornelius Tyson, deceased, of Pottsville, are descended from 
Cornelius and Hannah Tyson. The Tyson homestead, near 
the Oley, Exeter and Amity Township lines, is still maintained 
by a member of the family name. 

Eli"^ L. Heisler, (George'* Jacob, Joseph^ George-, George^ 
Jacob Heisler.) The latter came from the Austrian border to 
Berks County about 1770, removing to Montgomery County. 
A branch of the family lived at Lewistown, Schuylkill Coun- 
ty. George Jacob Heisler was a paymaster in the Revolu- 
tionary War and carried a rifle in the battle of Stony Point. 
Marshall Heisler, who did good service in the Reading Com- 
pany Coal and Iron Police, Minersville, during the MoUie 
Maguire troubles, was a lineal descendant. George Jacob, 
father of Eli Heisler, of Pottsville, while papering and paint- 
ing a house in Montgomery County, after the Civil War, 
found behind a washboard, a record of the oath of allegi- 
ance taken by Melchoir Fritz, 1763, to the British crown, in 
London, where he took the communion in the Church of 
England before coming to this country. He settled in Robe- 
son Township, Berks County. This paper Mr. Fleisler pre- 
sented to Ezekiah J. Fritz, of Pottsville, a lineal descendant. 

THE SPOHN FAMILY 

Henry^ Spohn, (Joseph^), born in Cumru Township, 
Berks County, March 10. 1720; died January 21, 181 3^ His 

wife, Catharine , born March 12, 1736, died January 25, 

1810. They had sons: Adam, b. January 25, d. January 18, 

1831 ; Phillip, a Revolutionary soldier; John, Captain in 

the Revolutionary War; and several daughters. Trinity 
Church records, Reading, show Henry Spohn and wife, 
Catharine, to have stood sponsors eight times at baptisms 
from 1768 to '93, which show the date and also the family 
names of friends and relatives. 



174 BLUE BOOK OF 

Who Was Who 

John Spohn and wife, Mary , stood sponsors at the 

baptism of John Spohn, son of Adam (Henry^), b. November 
7, 1790. This John Spohn was probably the man who settled 
on Broad Mountain, (Schuylkill County), and died at the age 
of forty-seven, in Pottsville, 1847. His wife was Margaret 
Horuff, and the surviving children are : Mrs. Eliza Denne- 
baum and Mrs. Val. Stichter; deceased Moncure, Frank, and 
several others. 

Captain John Spohn, wf. Catharine, daughter of Conrad 
Bower, deceased. He was born in Cumru Township, Jan- 
uary 10, 1754, and married Maria Biddle. He died April 19, 
1822, at Reading. His company and that of Captain Peter 
Decker were captured at the taking of Fort Washington, 
November, 1776. 

Phillip Spohn and wf., Mary, baptized four daughters 
and one son, John William, between August 17, 1771, and 
February 28, 1790. The sponsors for the latter were the 
grandparents, Henry and Catharine Spohn.^ 

BECHTELS, PALMERS 

John Bechtel, father of Hon. O. P. Bechtcl, lived in Berks 
County, where he kept the "Half Way House," between 
Reading and Kutztown. He removed from there to North- 
umberland County, where his tract of land was known as 
"Warrior Run farm." In 1847 he removed to Middleport, 
Schuylkill County. John Bechtel was born in Bucks County, 
1798. He was postmaster of Middleport during the Pierce 
administration. 

Nathan Palmer was a lineal descendant of Miles 
Standish. He was born in Plainfield, Connecticut, but remov- 
ed early to Pennsylvania. The sympathies of the Palmer 
family were with the British and they were not represented 
in the War of the Revolution. His son was Judge Strange 



(Note 1 — Hain's Church Records.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 175 

Who Was Who 

N. Palmer, who came to Pottsville, 1829. His son, Robert 
Pahner, State vSenator, was appointed minister to the Argen- 
tine Republic, 1861. His health failed and he died, 1862, on 
his return trip home and was buried at sea. Of his children. 
Strange, Charles T., (a prominent physician), Robert, Laura, 
Bertha, wife of Harry Stinear, and Frank N., the latter alone 
survives. 

THE KAERCHERS, KEPNERS, SHIPPENS 

Conrad Roth, or Roads, came from Germany and settled 
in Chester County. He resided in Reading, 1760, where he 
died. His son, John, settled in Hamburg where Franklin 
Roads, of Minersville, and Jacob O. Roads, the father of 
George and Oliver Roads, of Pottsville, were born. Other 
Roths or Roads, in Berks and .Schuylkill Counties, were the 
descendants of one of three brothers who settled in Amity 
Township, about 1725, Jacob having a numerous progeny. 
Colonel Jones, of the Continental line, Revolutionary War, 
was a maternal ancestor of George and Oliver Roads. It was 
said of Colonel Jones that "one half of the prominent people 
of Reading, in the early days, were descended from him ; 
among them the Hon's Glancy and Richmond L. Jones, and 
in Pottsville the Morris, Roseberry, Roads, N. C. Morrison, 
Thompson, Mrs. George Ryon and Nathan Evans' families, 
and others claim descent from this man ; Jonathan Jones m. 
Margaret Davis. They had eleven children, five sons and six 
daughters. 

Hamburg was first called Kaerchertown. Martin Kaer- 
cher lived here in 1785. William, George and Daniel, sons 
of Martin, were taxpayers in 1793. Daniel removed to Frie- 
densburg, Manheim Township, Schuylkill County, where 
Franklin B. Kaercher, the father of Frank D., Edward E., 
William H., Samuel H. (deceased), D. W., and Mrs. Ida 
Day, was born. Martin Kergher. John and Christian Kercher 



176 BLUE BOOK OF 

Who Was Who 

(Kaercher) (Revolutionary War Record.) The Derrs, Shomos, 
Yeagers, Seidels and other Pottsvillians, claim Hamburg as 
the seat of their nativity. 

The Kepners, W. C, deceased, and Sol. Kepner, of Or- 
wigsburg, are descended from a family that lived in the south- 
ern part of Schuylkill County long before it was known by 
that name. They belonged for several generations to that 
thrifty element that represents the typical Pennsylvania Ger- 
man citizen. Kepners, a village on the branch of the Lehigh 
Valley Railway, was named after the family. Bernhard Kep- 
ner kept a tavern on the Catawissa road, one mile north of 
McKeansburg, then Northampton County. He was in the 
Revolutionary War and is buried at McKeansburg. 

Attorney L. D. Haughawout, of Pottsville, claims two 
members of his family as having been in the Revolutionary 
War and others in the later wars in which the United States 
was involved. 

Henry Spannuth was in the War of the Revolution. On 
Christmas night, 1776, he was among those of the British 
emissaries captured by General Washington after crossing 
the Delaware. Released, he took up arms at once for the 
Continental cause. He settled in Lebanon County. 

Jacob^ Spanuth, (Henry^ Emanuel^, George^, Henry^), 
Jacob, antiquarian, of Pottsville, is descended from Henry^, 
who came over, 1776, with the British forces and became an 
exemplary citizen in his adopted country. 

Daniel Focht, clerk for John Pott, lived in one of the first 
houses erected at the Forge, 1806, old Orchard, Greenwood 
basin, near the site of Pottsville. Focht's forge, near New 
Ringgold, was owned by this family of which the James 
Focht and Daniel Focht families are a branch. 

Edward B. Hubley, born 1792, at Reading, son of Attor- 
ney Joseph Hubley, admitted to the Bar 1820, was twice 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY i77 

Who Was Who 



elected to Congress from Berks and Schuylkill Counties, 1835 
to 1839. He lived at Orwigsburg, removing to Reading, then 
to Philadelphia, where he died. 

John4 p Hobart, (NathanieP P., Robert^, Enochi), came 
to Orwigsburg, Schuylkill County, 1838. He was born in 
Pottstown, Montgomery County. 1814, and married Anne 
Smith. He was a lawyer and practised in the Schuylkill 
County courts, coming to Pottsville when the county seat was 
removed from Orwigsburg, where he lived until his death. 
They had two sons and two daughters. 

NathanieP Potts Hobart, a lawyer, was Auditor General 
of Pennsylvania, 1836, under Governor Joseph Ritner. He 
was in the War of i8i2-'i4. He built the mansion for a 
homestead on the hill at Pottstown, afterward used as a 
school for boys by Col. Meiggs. Here the family resided. 
He married Johanna Holland. Nathaniel Hobart was a 
grandson of Enoch Hobart, a sea captain from Philadelphia 
to Liverpool. 

There was a Peter Hobart, who came to Hingham, 
Mass., 1635. He had sixteen children who settled in different 
states. Enoch Hobart may have been one of the sons, but 
the connection has not been proven. 

Shippen, John, and wife Margaret McCall, came to 
Pottsville, 1830. He was a descendant of Edward Shippen, 
the first Colonial Mayor, of Philadelphia. A daughter of this 
historic family, a great belle and beauty, married General 
Benedict Arnold, who was a traitor to his country. The 
Shippens were loyalists. The children of John Shippen were : 
Edward, Samuel and Elizabeth, the latter being the last of 
her family and died May 20, 1914, in Philadelphia, where she 
resided the last years of her life ; the family home on the site 
of the Philadelphia and Reading Company building, Mahan- 
tongo Street, Pottsville, being owned and occupied by them 
for fifty years. John Shippen was President of the Miners' 



178 BLUE BOOK OF 

Who Was Who 

National Bank, of Pottsville, from March 4, 1831, succeeding 
Francis B. Nichols, resigned, February 25, 1831. The Miners 
Bank was incorporated, 1828, and he was its second president 
serving almost a half century. 

Miss Elizabeth Swift Shippen, through inheritance 
amassed considerable wealth, her estate being valued at more 
than $2,000,000. The Pottsville Hospital received $272,000 
from her estate with other bequests ; the hospital having been 
practically founded by her in memory of her parents. Be- 
quests were given other local and some Philadelphia institu- 
tions. 

Thomas James Baird married the daughter of Matthew 
Carey, of Philadelphia. His wife, Eliza C. Baird, was a sister 
of Henry C. Carey, the noted political economist and writer. 
They came to Pottsville, 1835, where Mr. Baird acted as 
agent for the Carey's, who owned the controlling interest in 
the York Farm, Eyre and St. Clair coal tracts. Mr. Baird 
was a graduate of the United States Military Academy, 1814, 
and served in the war of 1812-14, as a Lieutenant of Artil- 
lery. He remained in the service until 1828 when he resigned 
as Captain of the 3rd Regiment United States Artillery. In 
1838 he was elected Captain of the National Light Infantry, 
of Pottsville. Their children were Augusta, wife of Dr. A. 
H. Halberstadt, and Edward Carey Baird, married to Emily 
Thompson, daughter of Samuel C. Thompson. E. C. Baird 
was a Major on General Meade's staff during the War of 
the Rebellion serving with distinction throughout the entire 
period. 

Ashael Powers, grandfather of Rev. J. F. Powers, pastor 
of Trinity Episcopal church, was a soldier in the Revolu- 
tionary War from Springfield, Vermont. 

Christian Burkert was born in Berks County, 1751, 
where he died, 1840. He was in the Revolutionary War. 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 179 

Who Was Who 

He was the grandfather of Elias P. Bitrkert, of Ashland, 
Schuylkill County. 

Dr. Jonathan Potts was born at Pottstown, Montgomery 
County, 1747. He was a surgeon general in the Revolution- 
ary army. His son William was the grandfather of Hon. W. 
Ramsey Potts, of Pottsville. William and William B. Potts 
are both buried at Pottstown, which was named after Jona- 
than Potts. 

James Patterson settled in Chester County, (Conestoga, 
Lancaster County,) 1717. His son, James Patterson, re- 
moved to Juniata County, and settled on the banks of the 
river Juniata, where he built a stone house that was used as 
a fort against the Indians with whom he traded. He was a 
Captain in the French and Indian War. His son, George 
Patterson, married Jane Burd, daughter of the Colonel of 
his father's regiment, and Sarah Shippen, a descendant of 
the first mayor of Philadelphia. His son, Burd Patterson, 
came to Pottsville, 1824, and was one of its foremost resi- 
dents. The family in Pottsville was a large and prominent 
one, but is now almost wholly extinct here. Burd S. Patter- 
son, of Pittsburg, is a grandson of Burd Patterson, his father 
was Joseph Patterson. George Patterson, brother of Burd, 
was married twice. His sons were: Stuart, Edward, Fred- 
erick and William, of the first wife, and John and Theodore, 
of the second. His daughters were Matilda, Mary and Dollie. 

Samuel Lewis, son of Griffith and Lydia Lewis, was born 
October 13, 1791. He was married to Rebecca Phillips, Octo- 
ber 18, 1820. They had five children, one of whom died in 
early manhood. Charles M., father of Charles M. Lewis, 
manager Philadelphia and Reading Telegraph Company lines, 
Reading ; and Edgar P. Lewis, of Pottsville, was born October 
13, 1823, and died 1880. Samuel Lewis was twice married, 
his first wife having died November 9, 1857 (was born July 
12, 1788). The second union, to Miss Miller, a public school 



i8o BLUE BOOK OF 

Who Was Who 

teacher, took place May 26, 1S59. From this marriage one 
son, WilHam Allison, was born, January 8, 1867. Samuel 
Lewis died August 22, 1878. His wife, Rose M. Lewis, died 
at Rutherford, N. J., January 6, 191 5, and is buried in 
Pottsville. Samuel Lewis, borough surveyor, and the 
compiler of several original borough and county maps, 
traced his lineage back in a clear line of descent to Evean 
Lewis, who was born in or near Nathlage Parish, Pembroke 
Shire, Wales, British Isles. He and his wife Magdelene, emi- 
grated to America in 1713 and settled in the great valley in 
Whitelaw Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, where 
they purchased a tract of land from Richard Thomas. They 
had four children, one son Griffith and three daughters. The 
line extended down through the above Griffith to Samuel, his 
son, and to Samuel's son Griffith, who in turn had a son, 
Samuel, the subject of this sketch, and the fifth generation up 
to the time of his death and the seventh in a direct line of 
descent of the Lewis family up to the present time. 

ZELLERS, RAHNS, SEITZINGERS 

John Henry Sellaire (Zeller), Huguenot, came to New 
York, 1 710, with the one thousand immigrants. His name and 
that of his son John is on the list of settlers at Livingstone 
manor. He was in Queen Anne's war, 1711^. He died 1756. 

John Henry Zeller came from the Schoharie, N. Y., to 
Chester County, Penna., (Berks), 1727. He built the block 
house, as a refuge from the Indians (part of which is still 
standing) on the mill creek, between Womelsdorf and Stouchs- 
burg. 

Zeller, John Henry, wf. Anna Maria ; c, John George, 
John Henry, John David, Hartman (Martin,) John, Anna 
Maria Saltzberger, Barbara, Catharine Pontus, Anna Eliza- 
beth Battdorf. His son John George lived on the homestead 
in Marion Twp., between Wintersville and Stouchsburg. 



(Note 1 — Roster of companies, Part 1.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY i8i 

Who Was Who 

George M. Zeller, a direct descendant of John Henry, is 
the landlord of the hotel, Stouchsburg-. He m. Lizzie J. 
Bright ; they have one son. 

Jacob! Rahn, b. Aug. 8, 1728, wf. Margaretta, b. Aug. 4, 
1714; c. Jacob and Adam. Jacob^ Rahn (Jacob^) b. July 16, 
1757, d. 1823, m. Elizabeth Schneider. They had four sons 
and four daughters. Jacob^ was a soldier in the War of the 
Revolution (Part i.) Jacob^ was the father of George Rahn, 
who came early to Orwigsburg from Kutztown, Berks 
County. He was one of the first associate judges of Schuyl- 
kill County and Sheriff, 1820-183 1. His children were Rich- 
ard, Charles A. (Clerk of the Schuylkill courts,) Mrs. Matilda 
Filbert, Oscar, one da. 

Jacob Siegfried. Jacob's name is found upon the Revo- 
lutionary war roster (Part i.) Michael, Andreas, John, 
Henry, Joseph and Jacob all took the oath of allegiance, 1777.^ 

Nicholas Seitzinger, wf. Barbara Setley, of Perry Coun- 
ty, Pa., had seven sons and a number of daughters. He was 
a taxable, 1759, in Bethel Township, Berks County, and in 
1795 owned land in Butler Township (Mahantongo.) He 
was in the Revolutionary war. Children : George, m. to 

Catharine Kantner ; Daniel m. Mary Ream ; John m. 

Roland ; Jacob m. Elizabeth Moyer, West Brunswick Town- 
ship ; Samuel m. Dreibelbeis ; Nicholas m. Rowe, of 

Reading; Henry d. single; Catharine m. James Scott, father 
of Samuel Scott, wf. Mary Beyerle. 

Harvey^ Scott, (Samuel-, James^), retired merchant of 
Pottsville, m. Ella Lindenmuth ; c, Eftie, wf. of Charles 
Seltzer, one da., son d. ; Laura, m., deceased ; da. Laura. 

The daughters of Jacob" Seitzinger (Nicholas^) were : 
Mrs. Robert Palmer, Mrs. Fred. Fernsler, Mrs. Annetta 
Schuyler, and Mrs. Adelia Hippie. 



(Note 1 — List of names, Berks Historical Society.) 



i82 BLUE BOOK OF 

Who Was Who 

Jeremiah^ Seitzinger, County Commissioner and Court 
Crier, (Jacob^, Nicholas"^), b. 1802 at Bull's Head, m. Amanda, 
da. of Joseph Morgan, of Orwigsburg ; their children were : 
Marcus, Aurora and Annie, wf. of G. Wesley Mortimer, d. 

Nicholas- Seitzinger (Nicholas^) was an Associate Judge 
of Schuylkill County and lived at Tamaqua, Pa. Jacob lived 
on a farm at Bull's Head. He built the first brick house in 
Pottsville, on the site of the Merchants' Bank, opposite the 
Episcopal Church. His brick yard was located where the old 
Pennsylvania freight depot stands. He owned the lots where 
the Exchange Hotel is and constructed it from bricks made 
at his yard. The family lived in what is now the Eber build- 
ing. 

Of other notable citizens among the early settlers of 
Pottsville, the majority were Pennsylvanians and claimed the 
seat of their nativity in one of the three original counties of 
1682, Chester, Bucks and Philadelphia, from which devolved 
Lancaster, York, Montgomery, Dauphin, Lebanon, North- 
ampton, Northumberland, Berks and other counties and are 
nearly all on record as citizens of Eastern Pennsylvania. 

The esoteric rights of the foregoing to Revolu- 
tionary and Colonial ancestry have been accepted by the writer, 
through personal assertion, hearsay evidence and tradition ; no 
attempt having been made to establish their claims, except 
those noted and those that are correlative with established 
records found elsewhere in these pages. (In the Pennsylvania 
Archives, War Department Records, Pension Bureau, etc.) 
The great amount of labor required in such a research being 
left to such as are personally interested in verifying them. 

Nor has an effort been made by the author to individual- 
ize all of the early families that belonged to the maternal 
family of Berks County and settled in the eastern and north- 
eastern part, now known as Schuylkill County, or of those 
mentioned whose descendants settled later in her environ- 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 183 

Who Was Who 

ments. The foregoing, perhaps, are but a tithe of those who 
sprang from the nucleus of early settlers, when the division 
of counties in Eastern Pennsylvania was unknown or con- 
fined to the original three, Philadelphia, Chester and Bucks 
Counties, but sufficient have been given to prove the resi- 
liency of their claims and their hereditary right to an ances- 
try, that through succeeding generations, has aided in propa- 
gating civilization in almost every State in the Union. 
Patrician or proletariat by heritage, the mission of the early 
settler in Peimsylvania was the same and the results speak 
for themselves. 



RETROSPECTIVE 



History is necessarily a work of compilation and re- 
search and is never fully complete. From its adolescent 
period up to the present time, to establish facts and their 
recurrence, a personal visitation and investigation, of the 
ground gone over, is imperative. 

During the years occupied in this research, the author 
traveled many miles, spending weeks in the principal histor- 
ical libraries, of the State and inspected the church and 
court house records in the different counties involved in the 
historical and genealogical annals ; many homesteads, too, 
were visited and individuals, personally, were interviewed 
upon the subjects treated upon in these pages. 

Of the hundreds of letters written to persons, many of 
which were not deemed of sufficient importance by the re- 
ceivers to send a response ; and from those received from 
others who kindly furnished what they knew, many facts 
relevant to the subject were gleaned. 

While the writer is painfully conscious of the ofttimes 
imperfect result of these researches, yet much original light 



1 84 



SCHUYLKILL CO. BLUE BOOK 
Who Was Who 



has been thrown upon quoted subjects ; and new and orig- 
inal matter has been gained that is of the greatest import- 
ance in confirming and substantiating the data given ; and in 
rejecting other claims that were irrelevant or not authentic. 
With the hope that the work may be taken up and carried to 
a conclusion by other more facile and trenchant pens, the 
historical pages are laid aside to make way for the genea- 
logical records. 



M 



SCHUYLKILL CO. BLUE BOOK 
Genealogical Records— Zerbeys 



187 



Origin Of The Zerbeys 



NAME TRACED TO NINTH CENTURY 



fl'HE Zerbes were originally Norsemen 
and natives of ancient Scandinavia, a 
general name given in the early cen- 
turies to the great tract of country north of 
Germany, comprising Denmark, Norway 
and Sweden and including Iceland and the 
Danish Archipelago. 

Their tribal name, like the Gauls, Goths, 
Normans, Teutons and others of the early 
races was "Servi" and their coat of arms 
a knight with the heraldic device, "To 
Serve," emblazoned on it. 

They were the retainers of the Duke of 
Holstein, ruler of the Princely German 
House of that name, which includes the royal line of Den- 
mark and other collateral royal branches. 

Holstein, on the North Sea, a duchy of North Germany, 
belonged to. Denmark, but is now an adjunct of Prussia and 
known through its alliance with Schleswig as the province 
of Schleswig-Holstein, its limits being circumscribed through 
the frequent changes of the boundaries of Northern Europe, 
brought about by the Roman conquerors. 

From the reign of Charlemagne, in Eight Hundred A. D., 
who was then the most powerful monarch in all Europe and 
whose empire extended from the Atlantic to the Save, the 




i88 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

Theiss, the Oder and the lower Vistula rivers, from the Baltic 
Sea to the Ebro and from the North Sea and the Eider to 
central Italy ; the power of the independent dukes, of the 
small duchies was almost equal to that of the reigning 
sovereign. 

In some instances these nobles were wealthier than their 
rulers. Their castles were magnificent in their fortress-like 
proportions, they maintained a sovereignty over large armies 
of vassals and retainers and if their ruler could not compel 
their obedience, they made war and peace upon their own 
terms and rendered only a nominal service to their reigning 
sovereign. Of such, was the Duke of Holstein. 

In the ninth century a race of pirates began to inflict 
great suffering upon the European coasts. They sailed up 
the navigable rivers of the German Ocean and ravaged the 
countries along their shores and the North German free-hold- 
ers were despoiled of their homes and their possessions by 
the marauders. The Norsemen became, more or less, a 
nomadic race. The frequency with which they made war 
upon the southern countries and weaker principalities led them 
into frequent migratory expeditions and when Paris was 
besieged, in A. D. 885, Charles, "the Fat," bribed them to 
withdraw their forces instead of opening a conflict with them. 

In 894 A. D., when Arnulf made war upon the Norsemen 
and afterward entered Italy, to settle the quarrel between 
the rival claimants to the crown, some of the defeated Norse- 
men accompanied his army ; among them were some of the 
Servi (pronounced Sarve, two syllables), who remained in 
that country and settled, and the name became "Zerbi." 
Others settled in the duchy of Hanover, where it was known 
as "Zarva," but the greater number, after participating in the 
wars that led up to the crowning of the German Kings as 
"Roman Emperors," in 962, some of these northern feudal 
Servi migrated to middle Europe, uniting with the Galicians, 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 189 

Of the Zerbeys 

where they became powerful and noted for their vigor of 
frame, valor in war and love of freedom. 

About the tenth century they received a grant of land 
from the Emperor Leo VI, situated on the Danube River, 
which they proceeded to cultivate, establishing their feudal 
rights as freeholders, only pausing in their career as agri- 
culturists, to take up the sword and lay aside the plough- 
share, to defend their little independent kingdom in the nth 
century, when the Greeks invaded it and again when the 
Turks reduced it and in the frequent insurrections that fol- 
lowed until it became a free and independent State under the 
protection of the great Powers. The Austrian-Servian crisis, 
when Montenegro and Servia disagreed and when King Peter, 
of Servia, desired to be considered the head of all the Servians 
and Prince Nicholas, of Montenegro, proposed to constitute 
himself "Czar" of the two little States, Austria was obliged 
to interfere to preserve their neutrality. Recent historical 
events, 1914-15, show the Servians still resenting all efforts on 
the part of other powers to absorb their principality into a 
more powerful dynasty (June i, 1915.) 

(Note — There is a town in Austria-Hungary named 
"Szarvas" (Szahrvas) on the Koros, 22 miles northeast of 
Csongrad, population 18,917.) 

Before the birth of Christ the Thracian or Illyrian races 
inhabited all the country south of Austria-Hungary and when 
the nomadic tribes of Servians came from Galicia, a province 
of Spain at the extremity of the Iberian peninsula, and gave 
it their name, they were converted to Christianity. In 636 
A. D. others came and the land was known as Galicia, part 
of it now (1914) being a province of Austria and known as 
Galicia-Lodomeria. After the bloody wars, 1459, between 
Hungary and Turkey, the Servians were freed. The land 
given them by Emperor Leo VI in the tenth century was 
erected into an independent kingdom by Pope Honorius III 



igo BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

in 1217. It was not until 1815 that the country secured its 
independence under the protection of Austria and Russia. 
The religion of the Servians is that of the Greek Catholic 
church. The population of Servia is four million. 

ZERBIS IN ITALY 

After the crowning of the King of Lombardy, A. D. 
962, several of the feudal Servi from Holstein settled in 
Italy, where the name was Zerbi. A medical work in scholarly 
Latin and in the professional language of Italy, entitled 
"The Anatomy of the Human Body" was published by Gabriel 
Zerbi. He held the title of Medicus Theoricus and was an 
authority on the olfactory nerves. 

The following letter is self explanatory: 

University of Penna., Phila. Librai-y, August 25, 1913. 
Mrs. Ella Zerbey Elliott, 

Dear Madam: — There is a copy of the work by Gabriel Zerbi, pub- 
lished in Verona, in the latter part of the fifteenth century, in the British 
Museum, London. It bears the following title: — "Liber Anathomie Cor- 
poris Humani Singulori, Membro lUuis, etc., per B. Localette Venetiis, 
1502 folio." There is no reprint of the work. — Morris Jastrow, Jr., Li- 
brarian. K. S. L., Assistant Librarian. 

(The following is extracted from notes and letters of 
Benton H. Zerbe) : 

"August Zerbi went from Graz and Vienna, Austria, to 
Italy with the Austrian army, where he married the daughter 
of Chevalier Ughetti, of Verona. Taking the name of his 
wife he became a prominent merchant trading with vessels on 
the Mediterranean and high seas. His descendants are still 
living and use the name "Zerbi" among their surnames. The 
last male descendant bore the name of his grandfather, Au- 
gustine Zerbi Ughetti. A public square in Verona is named 
for the latter. 

(Note — January 13, 1915, the Servian legation in London addressed a 
letter to the press and public, urging the adoption of the spelling "Zer- 
bian" and "Serbia" instead of "Servian" and "Servia" which is gradu- 
ally being accepted.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY igi 

Of the Zerbeys 

Christian Zarva settled in Mecklenburg, a territory of 
North Germany, between the Baltic, Prussian Dominions, 
West Hanover and Luebeck, before it was divided into the 
Grand Duchies of Schwerin and Strelitz. He had two sons, 
George and John, the latter an officer in the Hanoverian army. 

George- Zarva, Zerbi, (Christian) had three sons. 
George, Wilhelm and John Phillip. Wilhelm, is said, "to have 
settled in Spain, where he married the daughter of Count 
De Luna, of Toledo, 'the city of swords', and where he took 
the family name. Marquis de Aspiroz, was a colonel of ar- 
tillery in the Spanish army, 1875. ^^^ ^^^^ ^vas the daughter 
of Count de Valle, Director General of Artillery. Marquis 
de Aspiroz claimed direct descent from Wilhelm Zerbi, of 
Mecklenburg." (Benton H. Zerbe, Genealogical Record, 
Part 2.) 

(Benton Zerbe, a foreign powder agent from this coun- 
try, who met many prominent heads of the military while in 
the pursuance of his business, met Marquis de Aspiroz with 
the above result, as related.) 

John Phillip Sevier, Zerbi, Zarva was the head of the 
American branches. He settled in France and came from Paris 
where some of his children were born, to Alsace, near Stras- 
burg, where it is supposed that his brother George and his 
father George lived, the Seviers and Serviers, as the name was 
spelled in France, being numerous in Alsace and Lorraine. 

John Phillip Sevier (Servier) after the revocation of the 
edict of Nantes fled with his wife and eight sons to Switzer- 
land and from there to London, England. Valentine Sevier, 
one of these eight sons, was the father of John Sevier, the 
great commonwealth builder. 

Another son, John Phillip, was the father of the three 
immigrants, John Phillip. Mardin, and Lorenz, 1710, who 
came to America in the same vessel with Conrad Weiser, 



192 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

settling in New York and subsequently in Pennsylvania. 
The name on the ship lists was spelled according to the Swiss 
method, "Zarva, Savar, or Sarvar." 

(Note : — Alsace, a province bordering on the Rhine, 
belonged to Germany until 1648, when part was ceded to 
France. Louis XIV took Strasburg, 1681, and the city, 
with the remainder of the Province, was secured for France, 
1697, where it remained until 1871, when it was ceded to 
Prussia, the surrender being made September 27, 1870.) 

(Strasburg, capital of Alsace-Lorraine, two miles west 
of the Rhine on the river 111. Before the present war it had 
a population of 150,000.) 

HISTORY OF ZERBES IN AMERICA 

The name Zerbe affords an interesting etymological study 
and is spelled in sixteen or more different ways, according to 
the nomenclature of the country in Europe from which the 
claimant hailed, or, as Dr. Egle, State Historian, says of the 
30,000 immigrants, that, ''their names appeared on the ship 
rolls according to the intelligence of the ship masters." 
These Swedish ship masters did not speak English and were 
phonetic spellers, hence the many changes from the original 
Sevier, Servier, of France, and the Serfas, Serfass, Sarva, Zar- 
var, of Switzerland and Sweden, to Serwe, Surfass, Serwes, 
Serwies, Zarva, Zerwe, Serb, Serbe, Serwitz, Zerb, Surface, 
Zerver, (the "e" having the sound of "ah"). All these varia- 
tions in spelling are not important, they are all from the same 
origin, "Servi" (Sar-ve) and are all of the same name. 

(Note : — When one of the Sevier, Zarva, families died they 
sent a mortuary notice to the representative families of that 
name throughout the United States, a Huguenot custom 
brought with them from the old world.) 

The Sevier (e, as in ah) and Zarvar, Zarva, being the 
nearest phonetically and best translations of the original name. 
The Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee branch adhered 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 193 

Of the Zerbeys 

to the French name Sevier, while those of Pennsylvania and 
their descendants in other states adopted the Swiss spelling. 
The Zerbes of Berks County and the southern part of Schuyl- 
kill County were, until a decade or two ago, known as 
"Zarvas," the present generation adopting the anglicized 
"Zerbe," or changing the spelling of the latter according to 
taste. 

The history of the Zerbes in the United States begins 
with that of the three immigrants, John Phillip, Mardin and 
Lorenz, who sailed from Rotterdam the day before Christ- 
mas, 1709, for the Province of New York, in the English 
colonies, of North America. They came on the same vessel 
with John Conrad Weiser. 

(The history of the Zerbe colonists is involved in the 
preceding chapters. Part L) 

John Phillip Zarva (Zerbe) joined one of the four 
companies of 300 men who were part of the expedition in 
171 1 against Montreal under General Nichols and the de- 
fense of Albany against the French, only one year after his 
arrival in his adopted country. John Phillip Zerbe was of 
the village of Annesburg, on the east side of the Hudson 
river. New York. (State of New York, Report of the State 
Historian, Colonial Series, Vol. i, p 442.) (Part i.) 

There is no record to be found of his having come to 
Pennsylvania, and it is believed that he remained in New 
York for a time, subsequently removing with the German 
colonists under Samuel Waldo, 1732, to Broad Bay, Maine, 
and founding that branch of the Zerbes. now numerous in 
that state and the Canadas. 

(Henry Cady, Secretary, H. F. Kingsley, President, of 
the Genealogical and Biographical Society, of Schoharie, N. 
Y., writes the author thus :) 

"The church records of Albany County go back only to 
1737. There was a Zeibert and a Ziebel but no Zerbe, in this 
county. I have the records of all of the old families." 



194 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

Moravian Historical Society, Vol. IV, sketch of the 
Moravian Settlement at Broad Bay, Maine, by John W. 
Jordan, President of the Pennsylvania Historical Society, 
Philadelphia, gives a succinct and interesting account of the 
perils and hardships endured by these colonists from the 
above date to 1769, when they scattered to North Carolina, 
other states and the Canadas. 

In 1863 when Andrew G. Curtin, the great war governor, 
was a candidate for a second term in the gubernatorial chair 
of the State of Pennsylvania, Hannibal Hamlin, Vice Presi- 
dent of the United States during the first term of the Abra- 
ham Lincoln administration, was one of the speakers at a 
political gathering at Harrisburg. After the meeting was 
over a reception was held at the capitol in honor of the 
distinguished guest. Charles A. Zerbe, deceased, a promi- 
nent citizen, of Lewistown, Mifflin County, was among those 
presented to the speaker, who said, as he took Mr. Zerbe by 
the hand : — "Zerbe, that is a familiar name to me, we have 
many Zerbes in the State of Maine." 

FIRST GENERATION 

Martin^ Zerbe, Martin Zarva, (Sevier), Huguenot, was 
of the more than 1000 German and French who came to 
New York from Europe, June 13, 1710, leaving Rotterdam 
before Christmas, 1709, and settling in Livingstone Manor 
and the Schoharie Valley, that State. (The history of the 
immigrants is found upon a previous page. Part I.) Martin 
Zerbe joined the expedition against Canada, July 16, 171 1, 
in Queen Anne's war. Both he and his brother, John 
Phillip, were enlisted as volunteers from the village of 
Annesburg, New York, in Captain Hartman Windecker's 
company." (State of New York. Report of the State His- 
torian, Colonial Series, Vol. i, p. 442, Part i.) He came 
to the region of the Tulpehocken, Chester County, Penn- 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY i95 

Of the Zerbeys 

sylvania, with the thirty-three families who settled in the 
Schoharie Valley, 171 3, coming overland to this state, 1723, 
from New York. (Part I.) 

The University of the State of New York, Albany, 22 May, 1915. 
Mrs. Ella Zerbey Elliott. 

Dear Madam:— Your letter of the 19th to the Custodian of Public 
Records has been referred to the State Library which has the records 
referred to. The roll of the Palatine volunteers from Annsburg in the 
expedition against Canada, in 1711, has been printed. The records in 
our keeping give no additional information in regard to John Phillip 
and Martin Zerbe, and there is no necessity therefore of any certificate. 
The facts as they appear on the printed roll are sufficient. 

Yours very truly, 

PETER NELSON, Assistant Archivist. 

(The names of Martin, John Phillip and Lorenz Zerbe 
are found in the state papers, Astor Library, New York, Co- 
lonial Series, and in D. Rupp's 30,000 Immigrants.^) 

Martin Zerbe, (Zarva, Sevier) was born in Alsace, near 
Strasburg, France, about 1685. There is no record of where 
in Switzerland and subsequently the Palatinates, his father 
fled to with his family from Alsace. Martin was already 
married and had one or more children, upon landing in New 
York, 1710. His death occurred between 1739 and 1750. 
"Baptized Anna Elizabeth, daughter of Albrecht Strauss and 
wife Maria Margaretha Zerbe; Sponsors, Martin Zerbe and 
wife Anna Elizabeth, March 25, 1739.^" 

Death records of Christ Lutheran church, Stouchsburg, 
Pa.: "J"ly 22, 1750. Mrs. Anna Elizabeth Zerbe, wife of Mar- 
tin Zerbe." 

No trace or record of Martin Zerbe's tomb has been found. 
He may be buried in a private burying ground on or near 
the old homestead, at Host's, Jefferson Township, Berks 
County, Pennsylvania, or his grave is doubtless among the 
many unidentified mounds in Christ church cemetery with 
that of his wife. 



(Note 1 — Rupp's 30,000 Immigrants says, "that of the names given 
on the ship lists, the men on landing were each over 21 years of age.) 
(.Note 2— Records of Rev. John Caspar Stoever from 1730 to 1779.) 



196 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

Martin Zerbe settled, 1723, on Fell's Manor, Chester 
County, now Host's Postoffice, Berks County, Pennsylvania, 
and known as "Schafifner's". Owing to the Indian difficul- 
ties the authorities were not authorized to survey lands to the 
early settlers and it was not until the Indian settlement for 
lands with the Penn heirs was ratified, i730-'32, that deeds 
could be obtained for them. Martin Zerbe lived upon this 
tract during his life time, being already an old man when 
the deed was vested in the name of his eldest son, George 
Peter Zerbe. 

No warrants could be obtained for this land until after 
the Indian purchase of 1728 and final release, October 12, 
1730, when Fell's Manor was transferred from Chester to 
Lancaster County, erected 1729. George Peter Zerbe, eldest 
son of Martin Zerbe, received a Warrant Proprietary for 153 
acres, January 2, 1735. Book D, Vol. 2, p. 148. Deed Book, 
Recorder's office, Chester County, Pennsylvania Archives, 
Vol. I, pp. 400-405. Colonial Records. Original deed in the 
office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth, Harrisburg, 
Pennsylvania. 

In addition to this tract, 100 acres were surveyed and 
purchased from Caspar Wistar, agent for the Penns, and the 
Commonwealth, by George Peter Zerbe, warranted, November 
12, 1737, returned, 92 acres 120 perches by George Ege, May 
29, 1789. (Deed Book, Recorder's office, Lancaster court 
house.) This tract is also found as having been surveyed, 
January 2, 1777, to Andrew Aulenbach, but never patented. 

In a copy of a deed for the settlement of lands on Fell's 
Manor, Martin "Sharvas" (Zarva's) Creek is mentioned in 
the survey .1 

Martin Sharva's (Zarva's) Run, (as shown on the 
map on another page), sometimes called the Muhlbach, 
(Mill Creek), survey of Fell's Manor, 1727, is the 



(Note 1 — Penna. Archives, Series 3.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY i97 

Of the Zerbeys 



branch of the Tulpehocken emptying into that stream near 
what is now known as Krick's Mill Post Office, or the Cross 
Keys Hotel, midway between Sunday's mill and the site of 
John Zerbe, the miller's, early mill. Other surveys and maps 
designate this branch as the Mill Creek and as "Serby's Run." 
It is a remarkably fine stream of rapid running water, and 
runs through the land on which Martin Zerbe located, 1723. 

In addition to the two tracts of Zerbe lands recorded as 
above in 1735 and 1737, there was another and third tract 
north of Fell's Manor and west of the first tract, which was 
warranted December 3, 1737, and surveyed, December 16, 1765, 
to Peter Zerbe, Jr., son of George Peter Zerbe, in right of 
Frederick Arnold. 

The map of Pioneer Homesteads, 1723, by C. I. Linde- 
muth, of Stouchsburg, Berks County, in this volume, contains 
the greater part of Fell's Manor. (George) Peter Zerbe's land 
is found in the northeast corner and Peter Zerbe, Jr.'s as de- 
scribed. 

(Note : — In the early surveys there were allowed for 
roads, etc., six acres to every hundred acres, the area men- 
tioned in surveys being proportionately less owing to these 
measurements.) 

"Mardin Zarben" was among the signers to a petition to 
the court of Quarter Sessions, Philadelphia, September, 1727, 
for a road from the Lutheran Church, in the Tulpehocken, 
now Zion's church, Stouchsburg, Berks County, to the Quaker 
Meeting House, in Oley Township (a certified copy of original 
petition and cut on another page, Part i.) 

The children of Martin and Anna Elizabeth Zerbe were: 

George Peter Zerbe, born 1710; died between i78o-'82; 
married Christina Loucks, 1732. 

Elizabeth Maria, born 1712; married Heinrich Boyer 
(Bayer), May 31, 1730. (Stoever's Records.) 



igS BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

John Jacob, born 1714; married Susanna 1735- John 

Jacob and wife stood sponsors for his brother, John Zerbe 
and wife Catharine Stupps' daughter Maria Caterina, April 
14, 1745. (Stoever's Records.) 

Maria Margaretta, born 1716; married Albrecht Strauss, 

1734. (Stoever's records.) 

John, born 1722; married Caterina Stupp, 1749. 

Barbara, born 1720; married George Meyer, April 4, 1738. 
Stood sponsor with George Graf, Jr., November 16, 1735, for 
child of Albrecht and Margaretta Strauss. (Stoever's records.) 

Elizabeth, born June 10, 1729; wife of Rieth ; buried 

in Rieth's cemetery, Stouchsburg, Pa. 

There were three men of the first generation of immi- 
grants, 1710, Martin, John Phillip and Lorenz Zerbe. Of the 
male children of Martin and Lorenz, who settled in Berks 
County, as far as known, there were nine men of the second 
generation. 

THE MANORS, WHERE SITUATED 

There were four Manors surveyed in the land grants in 
Pulpehocken, warranted and patented from 1731 to 1735. 

The Manor of Plumpton, known as John Page's land, 
contained 5165 acres; surveyed April 27, 1733, to John Page 
by a warrant, October 19, 1731, and patented September 17, 

1735. Part of it, about 1000 acres, was originally devised to 
Letitia, daughter of William Penn, and wife of William Au- 
brey. 

Fell's Manor, also known as Gulielma Maria Fell's land, 
adjoined the Plumpton Manor on the west, two miles beyond 
Myerstown, Lebanon County, beginning at the Tulpehocken 
Creek, at Rieth's church, Stouchsburg, and extending in a 
straight line, three miles in length, to Host's Post Office. 
Martin Zerbe, as aforesaid, settled on the tract of Fell's Manor, 
1723. 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 199 

Of the Zerbeys 

The survey of Fell's Manor was made November 2, 1727. 
The tract contained 10,000 acres. Gulielma Maria, daughter 
of William Penn, Jr., and granddaughter of William Penn, 
was the wife of Charles Fell. In the indentures, lease and 
release made in London, England, October 11, 12, 1730, it 
was stipulated, that, whereas, "Gulielma Maria Fell, her hus- 
band and her children are all settled and do reside altogether 
in Great Britain and have no intention to go or to settle in 
the Province of Pennsylvania and whereas: Some good and 
advantageous offers made by sundry persons of the said 
province to buy the said lands ; the said Gulielma Maria Fell, 
granddaughter of Wm. Penn, and the said Charles Fell, her 
husband, have judged it to be for her and her children's in- 
terest to sell parts of said land when opportunity offers. The 
Fells, with Wm. Penn, of London, send greeting to John, 
Thomas and Richard Penn and empower Thomas Penn, as 
their attorney, to sell the land 'away' until the same 10,000 
acres shall be all sold." Then follows how the monies should 
be invested for the benefit of the heirs. 

A draft of a tract of land situate on the branches of 
Tulpehocken Creek, in Chester County, surveyed for Gulielma 
Maria Fell (wife of Charles Fell, of London) the second day 
of November, Anno Domini 1727. 

"Beginning at a corner, marked black oak, standing on 
the Top of a Hill, on the south side of the Main Branch of the 
said Tulpehocken Creek, on the East side of a Run called 
Hans Moore's Run, thence north 30 degrees easterly crossing 
the said branch, 872 perches to a white oak, thence west by 
North 130 perches to a black oak, thence North, 32 degrees 
west, crossing a Run called MARTIN SHARVAS RUN, 200 
perches to a post by a marked white oak, then south 80 degrees 
westerly 2140 perches to a Hickory, thence south west 286 
perches to a small black oak, thence south crossing the afore- 
said main branch, 370 perches to a white oak, thence east by 



200 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

south, 256 perches to a Hickory, thence east 470 perches to a 
white oak, thence north 65 degrees easterly, 320 perches to a 
Hickory, thence east by north 214 perches to a white oak, 
thence north 70 degrees easterly, 240 perches to a small white 
oak, thence east by south, 480 perches to a white oak, thence 
south 55 degrees easterly, 235 perches to the place of begin- 
ning; containing TEN THOUSAND ACRES." 

Richard Penn's Manor, on the Swatara, Bethel and Tul- 
pehocken Townships, 5,000 acres, surveyed in five warrants 
of 1,000 acres each, extending north to the Blue Mountains, 
September 27, 1733. The village of Rehersburg is slightly 
east of the centre of this Manor. 

Thomas Freame's land or Freame's Manor, adjoining 
Richard Penn's Manor, 1,000 acres, September 27, 1733. It 
was surveyed in 10 warrants, each for 1,000 acres, dated Lon- 
don, May 12, 1732. 

William Allen's land, adjoining the Manor of Plumpton, 
October 20, 1730. This tract contained 2794 acres. It ad- 
joined the Manor of Plumpton, on the east, and was in what 
is now Heidelberg, North Heidelberg and lower Heidelberg 
Townships.! 

SECOND GENERATION— JOHN JACOB ZERBE 

Prominent among the Zerbes of the second generation 

was John^ Jacob (Martin^), b. 1714; m. Susanna , 1735. 

Their children were : 

1735, John, wf. Catharine; 

1736, December 25, bap. Jan. 2, '37, Anna Christina. Sponsors, George 
Peter Zerbe and wf. (Little Tulpehocken church records.) 

1738, April 20, bap. April 30, Michael. 
1741, June 24, bap. July 6, Valentine. 
1743, Peter. 

George Peter Zerbe is mentioned as having stood sponsor 
1737, May 5, with his wife, for John Jacob, son of Albrecht 
Strauss and wf. Maria Margaretta. 

(Note 1 — Colonial Records, Penna. Archives, Vol. 1, pp, 400-405.) 



*! 
S 




SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 201 

Of the Zerbeys 

Jacob Zerbe bought a tract of land in Bethel Township 
from John Heberling, January 2, 1753. Jacob and Susanna 
sold it, March 13, 1764, to Michael and Valentine, their sons. 
Michael Zerbe and wf. Anna Mary, and Valentine and wf. 
Barbara, November 14, 1768, sold it to John Zerbe, their 
eldest brother, and wf. Catharine. The will of Jacob Zerbe, 
probated March 19, 1782, was written August 15, 1776, and 
mentions John Zerbe as his eldest son, to whom he bequeathed 
one shilling as his birthright. John"^ Zerbe (John Jacob^, 
Martin^) became a prosperous man and kept this shilling until 
his death. Jacob Zerbe et al. also sold tract of land to 
Michael Zerbe, September 14, 1768.^ 

John' Zerbe was the first son and child of John^ Jacob 
(Martin^). He died before November 8, 1776, in Upper Tul- 
pehocken Township, leaving widow, Catharine, and four chil- 
dren under age, Margaret over 14, Barbara, John and Daniel 
under 14 years. March 15, 1785, these children of John, who 
bought the land from Michael and Valentine, deeded this 
land to Christian Zerbe. They were : 

John Zerbe, single; Daniel, single; Barbara, spinster; Jacob and 
Elizabeth Souder, of West Penn's, Borough Township, Cumberland 
County, and George and Margaret Reber, of Tulpehocken Twp. (Berks 
Co. C. H.) 

John^ Jacob Zerbe and wf. Susanna stood sponsors for 
their granddaughter, child of John^ Zerbe and wf. Catharine, 
April 8, 1745 ; bap. April 14. He was a taxable in Bethel 
Township, 1754^. 

Jacob Zerbe was executor to John and Catharine, 1782, 
(Will Book, Vol. 4, p. 277.) Jacob Zerbe died about March 
I, his will being probated March 19, 1782. Leonard Zerbe 
(John^ the m., Lorenz^) was a witness, Nicholas Gaucker, 
sole executor.3 



(Note 1— B. 3, Vol. 1, p. 337.) 

(Note 2 — John Zerbe et al., Bethel Township, Grantor, September 28, 
1791, to Christian "Zerby," tract of land. (D. B. 12, pp. 275, 277. Chris- 
tian Zerby, Grantee, April 18, 1807, Jacob Wagoner. Bill of Sale.) 

(Note 3— Will Book, A. pp. 40-3, p. 23.) 



202 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

Valentine^ Zerbe, (John- Jacob, Martin^), b. June 24, 
bap. July 6, 1741, he with his brother, Michael, bought a 
tract of land in Bethel Township, Berks County, from their 
parents, March 13, 1764. lie went to Bedford County with 
his brother, John, 1780, where he settled. The children of 
John Jacob Zerbe were: John Michael, b. 1738; John Val- 
entine, 1 741 ; John Peter, b. 1743, wf. Elizabeth ; and Jacob, Jr., 
who married Annie Spiess, of Rehersburg. Among the cate- 
chumens confirmed May, 1761, at the Little Tulpehocken 
church were Michael and Valentine Zerbe ; the above Jona- 
than, son of Valentine, b. about 1763, m. Margaret Weiser, 
May I, 1795^ 

Peter^ Zerbe, (John- Jacob, Martin^), b. 1743. d. Feb. 19, 
1796, wf. Elizabeth. 

MichaeP Zerbe, (John- Jacob, Martin^), b. April 20; bap. 
April 30, 1738; m. Elizabeth Weil. (Rehersburg c. rec.) 

Children : 

B. 1765, December 5, John; 
B. 1767, July, Michael; 
B. 1768, January 9, Anna Maria; 
B. 1772, December 25, Margarena. 

Jacob Zerbe et al., grantor to Michael'^ Zerbe, September 
14, 1768, land in Bethel Township. When Bethel Township 
was divided Frederick and Michael^ Zerbe were taxpayers 
in the Dauphin County Division, 1786. Michael" and his 
brother, Valentine^, were those of that name and date im- 
plicated in land transactions in Lancaster County, (see rec- 
ords.) 

Michael^ deeded to John, eldest son of MichaeP, 

(Berks County Deed Book, 3-5, p. 337.) 

(John2 Jacob, Martini) Bethel Township, January 25, 1810, tract of 
land. Deed Book 16, p. 100.) 

(MichaeH Zerbe, see elsewhere.) 

Revolutionary War Record Part 1, (Zerbes in the Revolution.) 
Michaels Zerbe Account of Captain Weaver's company, from Bethel 
Township) 



(Note 1 — Christ church records.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 203 

Of the Zerbeys 

Michael^ Zerbe removed to Cumberland County. 

(Abstract of Jacob Zerbe's will, (Genealogical Society, 
Philadelphia), probated in Berks County, January 23, 1825, 
says : "Jacob owned land partly in Bethel Township and part- 
ly in Tulpehocken.") 

SECOND GENERATION— JOHN ZERBE 

John^ Zerbe (Martin^), b. 1722. He was the son of Mar- 
tin and Elizabeth Zerbe. He m. Caterina Stupp, June 4, 1743 
(Stoever's), and lived in Tulpehocken Township. He was a 
signer for Christ Church, 1743, and was a taxable in Berks 
County, 1754, the first tax list taken in that county, and 
signed the oath of allegiance. They had the following chil- 
dren: 

(Rev. John Caspar Stoever Rec.) 

B. 1745, April 8; bap. April 14, Maria Caterina. Sponsors, Jacob 
Zerbe and wife. 

B. 1748, March 23; bap. April 3, Johannes, Sponsors, John Oberle 
and Catharine Heck. 

B. 1750, December 25;bap. February 3, 18ox, Christian. Sponsors, 
Christian Gruber and wife. 

B. 1751, October 3; bap. October 21, Anna Elizabeth. 

B. 1756, February 10; bap. March 7, Anna Christina. Sponsors, Mar- 
tin Stupp, wf. Christina. 

B. 1759, February 4; bap. February 10, Caterina Elizabeth. Sponsors, 
John George Rieth and wife. 

B. 1761, May 6; bap. May 24, Maria Margaretha. Sponsors, Albrecht 
Strauss and wife. 



Martin Stupp was of the thirty-three families who came to the Tul- 
pehocken, Chester County, 1723. The map in this edition shows his land 
as located on both sides of a branch of the Northkill. His wf. was Su- 
sanna Catharine Schultz. Children, Frederic and Abraham and eight 
daughters. Of the latter onlj"^ two are mentioned by name in his will, 
probated March 19, 1755. (Abstract of Wills, Penna. Historical Society, 
Philadelphia. J Catharine Zerbe and Anna Kunigunda Gruber. The chil- 
dren to have equal shares. Conrad Weiser was a witness. A daughter, 
Margaretta, married Dietrich Snyder, of Bethel Township. 

(Note — Dietrich Snyder was the g. g. f. of Senator Charles A. Snyder, 
of Pottsville. He belonged to the militia from Bethel Township in the 
Revolutionary War, but this company was not called out for active ser- 
vice. He was a court martialman.) 



ao4 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

HEINRICH BOYER 

Heinrich Boyer (Bayer) was with the fifty families that 
came from Schoharie, N. Y., 1727. They followed to Penn- 
sylvania to cast their lots with the original thirty-three fami- 
lies who settled in the Tulpehocken, Chester County, 1723. 
He took up a tract of land adjoining Martin Zerbe's and 
Albrecht Strauss' lands, in North Heidelberg Township, 
Berks County, Pennsylvania, May 31, 1730. Heinrich Boyer 
married Elizabeth Maria, daughter of Martin Zerbe.^ 

Heinrich Boyer, b. 1689, d. 1757. His second wife was 
Salome Sneifes. He came from the Tulpehocken to the vicinity 
of New Ringgold, then Northampton County, in 1749. where 
he built a block house that was a refuge for the settlers dur- 
ing the Indian troubles, in their flights to the Forts, Franklin 
and Lebanon, and in their final stampede to the other side 
of the Blue Mountain, and here Elizabeth Maria Zerbe died. 
The remains of a tunnel or ground cellar, in which they se- 
creted themselves, could be seen until within the last few 
years, when it was filled up by the owner, Nathan Gerber. 
Heinrich Boyer's children were : Anna Maria, George, Assmus, 
Andreas and Henry. 

A copy of the bill of sale of Henry Boyer's personal 
property, held "in the Tulpehocken" (now New Ringgold), 
April 13-14, 1757, (Vol. H, No. 2, Pub. Schuylkill Co. His. 
Soc, pp. 159-167) shows his Zerbe kinsmen and George, 
Leonard and Michael Rieth and others from the Tulpehocken 
to have been present and among the purchasers. The Boyers 
in Southern Schuylkill County are descendants of Heinrich 
Boyer. 

ALBRECHT AND JOHN PHILLIP STRAUSS 

Maria Margaretha (Martin Zerbe), second daughter of 
Martin and Elizabeth Zerbe, b. in the Tulpehocken, 1716; m. 
Albrecht Strauss, 1734. They had eleven children. 



(Note 1 — ^John Caspar Stoever's Records.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 205 

Of the Zerbeys 

Albrecht and John Phillip Strauss, of Wurtemberg, Ger- 
many, landed at Philadelphia, September 26, 1732. They took 
the oath of allegiance to the British Government. Albrecht, 
b. 1712; d. before May 7, 1787. John Phillip, b. September 
13, 171 3, d. before May 28, 1792. They came to Berks County 
and settled in Tulpehocken Township. Albrecht Strauss took 
out a warrant for land from Thomas Penn, October 7, 1736, 
"where he had already been settled two years." There were 
150 acres in the tract, through which ran Zerbe's (Sharva's) 
cretk, emptying into the Tulpehocken river at Krick's Mill's 
post office. His land adjoined that of Mardin Zarva (settled 
there in 1723, land warranted January 2, 1735,) whose daugh- 
ter, Anna Margaretha, he married in 1734. Children: 

Maria Barbara, b. November 16. 1735; m.. June 2, 1754, to John Kloss; 
Jacob, b. May 5, 1737; m. Elizabeth Brecht, August 21, 1759; Maria 
Elizabeth, b. May 5, 1737; m. John Daniel Madern, May 4, 1760; Anna 
Elizabeth, b. March 25, 1739; John Caspar, b. August 5, 1741; Maria Eva 
Rosina, b. November 6, 1742; m. Christopher Schaber, November 9, 1762; 
Maria Catharine, b. March 6, 1745; m. John Long, November 9, 1762; 
John Phillip, b. January 4, 1748; m. Savilla, da. of Benedict and Salome 
Kepner. Twins, Maria Christina, b. July 26, 1751, m. Benjamin Kebner, 
May 24, 1774; Maria Susanna, b. July 26, 1751; John Samuel, b. May 13, 
1756, m. Catharine Umbenhauer. 

(Note — John Samuel and Phillip, sons of Albrecht Strauss and Maria 
Margaretha Zerbe, and Phillip and Caspar Strauss, their cousins, were 
actively engaged in the War of the Revolution.) 

John Phillip Strauss, m. Anna Margaret Reimer. They 
had nine children. Their third child, Maria Christina, m. 
Christian Zerbe, son of John^ Zerbe (Martin^) m. to Catha- 
rine Stupp''. Their seventh child, John Jacob, b. May 5, 1757, 
m. Barbara Zerbe, da. of John^ Zerbe, (Martin^) June 14, 
1785. He died October 22, 1822. His wife died before he 



(Note 1 — There are four records of Christian Zerbe in the Revolution- 
ary War, (Christian Serfas, Zerbe, Serfass), Penna. Archives, Vol. 4, pp. 
664, 357, Vol. 8, pp. 203, 264.) 

(Note— A monument was erected at Strausstown, Berks County, sev- 
eral years ago, to Maria Margaretha Zerbe, wife of Albrecht Strauss, one 
of the founders of the Strauss family, at one of the Strauss reunions 
which occur once in two years, and when it was dedicated with appro- 
priate ceremonies. The Strausses are numerous in that vicinity and of 
this branch number over a thousand in the U. S.) 



2o5 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

did. Their children were: Catharine, Barbara, m. Adam 
Radebach ; Daniel, Magdelena m. Peter Smith ; Sarah, 
Adam, and Susanna. 

The Krammes family of Schuylkill County are descend- 
ants of Albrecht and Maria Margaretha Zerbe Strauss, also 
B. Morris Strauss, of Reading, and Strauss' of Schuylkill 
Haven. 

(Note — John George Zerbe attended the sale of Albrecht 
Strauss, after his death, held June 9, 1787. The record says, 
"the personal property was all bought in by relatives," the 
name of the above appears on the list of purchasers.) 

There were two Christian Zerbes of the third generation, 
Christian*^, b. December 25, 1750; (John^ Zerbe, m. to Catha- 
rine .Stupp, Martin^), m. June 3, 1773, at Christ Church, to 
Christina Strauss, b. February 20, 1749. (Stoever's Records.) 
Their children were: (Rehersburg Church Records.) 

1774, March 20, John George. 

1776, February 15, John. 

1777, January 16, Mary Catharine. 
1780, January 31, Susanna. 

1782, February 7, Jacob; m. Ferris, July 13, 1809. 

1783, December 31, Maria Christina. 
1787, October 29, Mary Salome. 
1789, May 25, Elizabeth. 

1789, May 25, Henry, m. Susanna Meckel, May 17, 1808. 

1791, Samuel. 

1792, April 2, Anna Maria. 

They removed to White Deer Township, Northumberland 
County, (now Union.) 

Christian^ Zerbe died in Union Count}^ i8i8, where his 
will is on record in which he mentions the above sons and 
daughters. 

Christian Zerbe, non-resident, paid tax in Heidelberg 
Township, 1787. 

George Zerbe, b. Union County, March i8, 1808; d., 
January 6, 1893, was of this line and doubtless a son of John 
George'* (Christian^, John^, Martin^), b. March 20, 1774. 
George Zerbe is buried in Grant City, Iowa. His children 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 207 

Of the Zerbeys 

were: William, who has three sons: Daniel, Wichita, Kan.; 
John W., York, Pa. ; Dr. George T., Nashville, Tenn. ; d., 
November i, 1865, aged 25 years; John, d., twice married, two 
children d. Da., Mrs. Charles Rochl, Nashville, Tenn., has 
three sons and two daughters and nine grandchildren. Da. 
of George, Mrs. Susan Greenawalt, four children, one son, 
three daughters. 

The brothers and sisters of this George Zerbe, b. in Union 
County, were : Joseph, who had one son and two daughters. 
Rebecca, Mrs. Thomas Riem ; Hettie, Mrs. Wm. Hyles ; Eliz- 
abeth, ]Mrs. Robert Wrick; Mrs. Susan Moore, Atlanta, 111.; 
Nancy, Mrs. Wm. Noll, Union Co., Pa. 

GEORGE PETER ZERBE— EARLY SETTLER 

The early settlers were engaged in raising hemp, flax 
and tobacco, in addition to food stufifs. They ran saw, grist, 
cotton-batting and fulling mills for carding ; distilleries, tan- 
neries, paper, oil and powder mills. They raised fruit trees 
and cultivated vineyards, ran cider and wine presses and the 
Tulpehocken and its tributary streams furnished the motive 
power for small mills and forges where gun metal, spikes and 
the primitive tools for agricultural pursuits were made. The 
Zerbes were mainly fruit culturists, vine dressers and millers, 
their farms today being among the garden spots of Berks 
County. 

George Peter Zerbe, (Martin^), eldest son of Martin and 
Elizabeth Zerbe, was one of the one hundred and sixty-five 
signers for the building of Christ Church, Stouchsburg, Ma- 
rion Twp., Berks Co., Pa. The record of Pastor Tobias Wag- 
ner, the first minister, gives a list of the male members only, 
from 1743 to 1746. Including the women, averaging four per- 
sons to a family, it would indicate that the church had a mem- 
bership of at least five hundred. On the building of the pres- 
ent handsome edifice, the foundation stones of the old log 



2o8 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

building were permitted to remain in the broad avenue, their 
outline giving the dimensions of the old historical church, 
which is of great interest to visitors. • 

George Zerbe was on the tax lists of Berks County, 1754, 
(their first publication). During the depredations of the In- 
dians, 1754 — 1756, cattle stealing by the red men was common 
in the Tulpehocken and bands of the settlers patroled the 
sparse settlements to prevent this thievery. George Peter 
Zerbe or George "Sarby," as he is known on the company 
rolls, Jacob Bender, Michael Rieth, Peter Walborn, Herman 
Sundock (Sontag), Christopher Stutzman, John Goodman and 
Adam Markle, all from the Tulpehocken, joined the Philadel- 
phia company, Capt. Edward Jones, private Independent troop 
of horse, 1756, which passed through Lancaster County on 
its way to Harrisburg with the hope that they might intercept 
the red men and regain their cattle. They went to John Har- 
ris' Fort, where Harrisburg now stands and rode along the 
Susquehanna to Fort Shamokin, where the company joined 
the Augusta regiment and became part of the Third Battalion 
that guarded the fort and intervening country during its build- 
ing.i 

George^ Peter Zerbe, (Martin^), first son and child 
of Martin and Elizabeth Zerbe; born, 1710; died, i78o-'<S2; 
married Christina, daughter of Abraham Loucks, 1736. No 
record having been discovered of George Peter Zerbe and liis 
wife's burial place, it is believed they are interred in a pri\'ate 
burying ground or that their graves are among the many 
unmarked in Christ church cemetery. Upon this land, k^- 
cated at Host's Post Office, four miles north of Womelsdorf. 
Berks County, George Peter Zerbe lived from 1723 till his 
death, about 1782. 



(Note 1— (Part 1.) (Penna. Archives, 5th Series, Vol. 1, p. 50.) 
(Indian Forts, Vol. 1.) 



-4g^&^ 




SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 209 

Of the Zerbeys 

GEORGE PETER ZERBE— HOMESTEAD OF 

Here, at the present time, in the midst of a beautiful 
grove of mighty oaks, stands an old colonial mansion, built 
1802, by Christopher Leiss, who purchased the land from 
George Ege, who bought it from the heirs of George Peter 
Zerbe, October 22, 1783, to wit: Elizabeth, married to Conrad 
Minnich ; Anna Maria, married to Leonard Rieth, (Reed), 
both of Brunswick Township ; Valentine, John, Peter, George 
and Michael. The four former conveyed their interest in the 
land to the three latter and Peter, Jr., sold the land to George 
Ege. Recorder's office, Berks County court house. Deed Book 
8, Vol. I, pp. 103-4. The original deed refers to Caspar Wistar 
of the one part and George Peter Zerbe of the other, of Tul- 
pehocken Township, Lancaster County, May 5, 1742, and 
says — "this was settled with Thomas Penn." Zerbe's Creek 
is mentioned and the number of acres as being 153 and 228 
"in his actual possession." The heirs spell their name "Zerbe" 
in the signatures. Deeds for settlement of lands in Tulpe- 
hocken, January 2, 1735, Chester County, recorded, Book D 2. 
Vol. 2, p. 148, at Philadelphia, Recorder of Deeds. (Penna. 
Archives, Vol. i, pp. 400-405. Map of Fell's Manor, Series 3, 
Vol. 24, p. 521.) 

The children of George Peter Zerbe and Christina Loucks 
were : 

Peter Zerbe, Jr. b. 1738; m. Elizabeth . 

Elizabeth Zerbe, b. 1740, d. 1796; m. Conrad Minnich. 

Valentine Zerbe, b. 1743, m. Salome Ney. 

Michael Zerbe, b. 1744, d. 1806, m. Anna Maria Donmier, June 4, 1776. 

Johannes Zerbe, bap. 1745, m. Maria Margaret Aunpst, April 2, 1771; 
second wf., widow, Elizabeth Kronberger, January 29, 1805. 

Anna Maria Zerbe, b. April 23, 1747, d. May 24, 1827, m. Leonard 
Rieth, December 20, 1768. 

Maria Zerbe, b. 1749, bap. 1750, d. November 13, 1751. 

George Zerbe, b. April 24, 1750, d. Jan. 19, 1814, m. Barbara Spon- 
chuchen, June 23, 1778. (Christ Church records.) 



(Note — If one child died, its name was frequently given to another. 
This duplication adds to the difficulty of adjusting the baptismal records.) 



210 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

The account of the vendue of Heinrich Boyer, on another 
page, April 13, 1757, (near McKeansburg), shows George 
Peter Zerbe to have bought some trivial articles at this sale 
of his brother-in-law's. This visit was probably not his first 
to what is now Schuylkill County. His first cousin, John 
Zerbe the miller, had taken up a thousand acres of land on 
this side of the Blue Mountain, 1754, and Peter Minnich and 
son, Conrad, (George Peter's future son-in-law), had settled 
in Brunswick Township, 1752, on the site of the Seven Stars 
Hotel. George Kohl, of Cumru Township, son-in-law of 
John Zerbe, of Cumru, also attended the sale. It was consid- 
ered a mark of respect on the part of the kinsmen to attend 
and purchase something. 

Between Zarva's Creek and the house is a remarkably 
fine large spring, over which was built a large spring house, 
Gothic architecture, with mansard roof (cut on another page). 
Over and aside of this spring stood the log house erected by 
Martin Zerbe, 1723, in which George Peter Zerbe lived until 
he built another home upon the site on which Christopher 
Leiss afterward built the stone house, still standing. 

To make way for the stone spring house one half of the 
old log house was removed, the other half, built in 1723, still 
remains. The owner of the place, at present, is Miss Hattie 
Shafifner, daughter of Mrs. Jacob Shaffner, Womelsdorf ; and 
Mrs. Hammeker, a sister of Mrs. Shafifner, owns the tract 
above, that also belonged to the Zerbe estate. Christopher 
Leiss, died July 26, 1826. He left one son, John, and 
five daughters^. (Will Book 5, p. 508, Berks County court 
house.) 

Abraham Louck, Heidelberg, January 28, 1771 — August 
15, 1772, (Vol. H, p. 115), who sold his real estate to his sons, 
George and Abraham, devises all his personal estate to four 



(Note 1— Abstract of Wills of Berks County, Vol. 1 1752-1798, p. 1G7. 
Collection of Genealogical Societies of Pennsylvania; Pennsylvania His- 
torical Society, Philadelphia.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 211 

Of the Zerbeys 

daughters, in four equal shares ; one quarter to Christina, 
married to George Peter Zerbe (Martin) and one quarter to 
be divided in two equal shares, to Elizabeth, married to Peter 
Zerbe, the remaining two quarters to the granddaughters and 
his daughter Elizabeth ; and the land to the two sons. 

THIRD GENERATION 

PeterS Zerbe, Jr., (George^ Peter, Martin^), b. 1738; wife, 
Elizabeth. At the death of his father, George Peter, he bought 
the rights of the other heirs in his father's plantation, in Tul- 
pehocken Township, Recorder's office, October 22, 1783, 
(B. 8, Vol. I, p. 103.) He also bought land from Valentine 
Bender, Grantor, Peter Zerbe, Grantee, December 2, 1797, 
(B. 16, p. 104.) Casper Wister, Penn's agent, appears in this 
transaction as Grantor to Peter Zerbe, October 22, 1783, sel- 
ling to the said Peter the water rights of "branch of the Tul- 
pehocken," (Sarva's Run), B. 8, p. loi. Peter Zerbe, Jr., had 
one daughter, Elizabeth, bap. July 2.2., 1771, (Christ Church.) 
Sponsors, his brother, Johannes and wife, Maria Margaret 
Aungst. Peter Zerbe Jr., lived in Tulpehocken Township until 
his death. (Map of Pioneer Homesteads.) He was in the 
Revolutionary War, Continental Line (Record, Part i.) Eliz- 
abeth Zerbe, daughter of Peter, married Captain David 
Baker, who was in the War of the Revolution. Peter Zerbe, 
in his will, probated October 2, 1797, bequeathed 100 pounds 
to his wife, and fifty pounds to each of his daughter Eliza- 
beth's children when twenty-one years old.^ 

Elizabeth^ Zerbe, (George^ Peter, Martin^), b. 1740, con- 
firmed at the age of 19 years 6 months, (Christ Church), m. 
Conrad Minnich about 1768; d. 1796. (For additional record 
see history of Conrad Minnich, in the Muenchs, this volume.) 

Valentine^ Zerbe (George" Peter, Martin^), b. 1748, lived 
and died in Tulpehocken Township ; wf., Salome, daughter of 
Valentine Ney. Valentine Zerbe is mentioned as executor of 



(Note 1— Abstract of Wills, Berks County C. H.) 



212 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

his father-in-law's will, July 19, 1790. (Abstract of Wills, 
Gen. Society, Phila.) He is on the tax list as land owner, 1798. 
Their children were : 

1768, March 27, Mary Magdalena. Michael (Valentine's brother) and 
wf. Anna Maria Zerbe, sponsors. 
1770, March 14, Jonathan. 

1775, March 6, Hannah Elizabeth. Sponsors, Maria Elizabeth Zerbe 
and George "Neu" (Ney.) 

1776, May 2, Andreas. ( Rehersburg Church records.) 

To Andreas Zerbe and wf. was born a son, William James, 1837. 
(Christ Church records.) 

Jonathan, son of Valentine Zerbe, m. Margaret Weiser, May 1, 1795. 
(Christ Church records.) 

SERGEANT MICHAEL ZERBE 

Michael Zerbe. There were two Michaels of the third 
generation and two of the fourth. Those of the fourth gen- 
eration were the sons of the third generation of Michaels, 
who were first cousins. 

Michael' Zerbe, (George^ Peter, Martin'^), b. 1744, d. 1806, 
m. Anna Maria Donmier, June 4, 1776. Children bap.: 

1777, July 5, Michael. Sponsors, John George and Barbara Zerbe, 
(Michael's brother.) 

1779, March 12, Salome. 

1781, February 6, Anna Marie. 

1782, August 28, Elizabeth. Sponsors, Benjamin and Elizabeth Zerbe, 
(his cousin.) 

1791, September 29, Barbara. 
1794, September 20, Eva. 

1796, February 24, Johannes. Sponsors, Michael and Anna Maria 
Zerbe, parents, stood for the last three children. 
1800, February 7, Anna Margarette. 
(Christ Church records, Stouchsburg. ) 

MichaeP Zerbe, d. 1806. His will was admitted to probate 
June 2, 1806. Tulpehocken Township, Jacob Shafer, admin- 
istrator. (Abstract of Wills, Genealogical Society, Phila., 
Vol. 2, 1798— 1825.) 

MichaeP Zerbe, Second Sergeant, Capt. George Miller's 
company, from Bethel and Tulpehocken Townships, Decem- 
ber 13, 1777 On duty at South Amboy, N. J. (Zerbes in the 
Revolution, Part i.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 213 

Of the Zerbeys 

Michael-* Zerbe, (MichaeP), b. July 5, 1777, d. November 
14, 1844; wf., Elizabeth Shaffer, b. February 21, 1780, d. May 
4, 1840; m. May 24, 1799. (Jacob Zerbe's Family Bible.) 
(Jacob, son of MichaeH Zerbe.) Children : 

1801, December 3, Johannes. 

1802, September 24, John Jacob. 
1811, Jonathan. 

(Christ Church Records, Stouchsburg.) 

1813, Magdelena. 

1814, Lydia. 

(Jacob Zerbe's Family Bible, Womelsdorf.) 
1817, December 30, Michael. 
1819, August 81, E. . 

Michael"* Zerbe buried in Christ Church cemetery; also 
wf. Elizabeth. 

Elizabeth Zerbe, da. of Michael^ and Elizabeth Zerbe ; b. 
January 14, 1806; d. October 22, 1864; wf. of Mathias Deck. 

Israel Zerbe, son of Mathias Deck and Elizabeth Zerbe, 
b. February 12, 1834; d. July 5, 1855. (Tombstones Christ 
Church cemetery.) 

Dr. Thomas T. Zerbe, of Schaefferstown, Lebanon 
County, says : "Many of the Zerbes on this side of the Blue 
Mountain are afiflicted with asthma. It is hereditary and there 
is a family tradition that we inherit it from an ancestor 
(Michael-^), who contracted it from exposure while in the 
Revolutionary army." 

Michael"* Zerbe settled one mile north of what is now Mt. 
Aetna, Berks County, where Jonathan Zerbe was born. Mich- 
ael is on the Tax Lists, 1810, Tulpehocken Township. 

Jonathan^ Zerbe, (Michael^, Michael', George-, Martin^.) 
b. 1811, d. 1876; m. Martha A. Meyer, d. 1896. Their chil- 
dren were : 

Charles M., b. 1841. 
Agnes, b. 1843. 
Thomas Taylor, b. 1846. 
Jane, b. 1850. 
B. Frank, b. 1853. 



214 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

Jonathan^ Zerbe was a practicing physician at Mt. Aetna 
and his two sons, Thomas Taylor and B. Frank Zerbe, of 
Schaefferstown, Lebanon County, have succeeded him and 
are prominent in the medical profession. Charles M. Zerl:)e 
is a well known attorney of Lebanon, Pa. 

Charles M. Zerbe, eldest son of Dr. Jonathan Zerbe, 
m. Rebecca Yearsley, of Philadelphia, 1888. They have no 
issue. 

Dr. Thomas^ Zerbe, (Jonathan^), b. 1846, m. Emma E. 
Taylor, a descendant of the Boones of Exeter Township, 
Berks County, b. 1854. Their children are: 

Florence T., b. 1882; Mabel R., b. 1884; Wm. Taylor, b. 1889; Marie 
M., b. 1890; Mabel R., m. Geo. E. Reiter, d. Children: George Zerbe, b. 
1905; Muriel Marie, b. 1907; W. Emily, b. 1911. 

Dr. B. Frank*^ Zerbe (Jonathan'"'), b. 1853, m. Ida Susan 
Lanser, b. 1856. Son, Charles Lanser, b. 1885. 

Jane^ M. Zerbe, b. 1850, d. 1911, (Jonathan^); m. Jacob 
Hickernell, d. Children: Fred. Zerbe, b. 1874; Charles T., 
Attorney, Lebanon, Pa., b. 1878; Frank J., b. 1880; Cyrus 
D., b. 1882; Jennie A., b. 1886; Annie M., b. 1888; Norma 
A., b. 1893. 

Children of Fred. Zerbe Hickernell: Hattie, Frank, Wil- 
liam, Martha, Harold, Elsie, George, John. 

Children of Frank J. Hickernell : Russel, Esther, Hilda. 

Children of Cyrus D. Hickernell: Minerva, Eugene, 
Grace, Ethel, Norma. 

Agnes*^ Zerbe, b 1843, ^- 1869, m. Dr. George Mays, d. ; 
left no issue. 

Michael^ Zerbe, (Michael^), b. December 30, 1817; m. 
Elizabeth Lillian Stambaugh. Children : Jonathan, Reading, 
Pa.; William, Myerstown ; Prosper, Newmanstown ; Alex- 
ander, d. ; Mrs. Hartman, d., Richland ; Mrs. Leininger, Mey- 
erstown ; Da., Emmeline, bap. November 14, 1848. 

John-^ Jacob Zerbe, (Michael^), b. September 24, 1802; 
d. 1836, m. Sarah Scholl, February 18, 1834; b. March 30, 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 215 

Of the Zerbeys 

1802; d. March 14, 1882; c, MeHnda, b. November 22, 1835, 
(grandparents, Michael and EHzabeth Zerbe, sponsors) ; d. 
September 12, 1851. Franklin, b. 1822, d. 1870, m. Elizabeth 
Heffelfinger, October 31, 1846, b. July 29, 1828, living at the 
age of 85 years (1913) at her home in Womelsdorf. Their 
children were: Silas, Reading, b. September 9, 1847; Sarah 
C, b. April 29. 185 1, m. Simon Moyer, d., October 11, 1857; 
left daughter, Sarah. Franklin Zerbe was the town clerk of 
Womelsdorf, 1866. He was a school teacher, justice of the 
peace, and a remarkable penman. He is buried in Union 
cemetery, Womelsdorf, Pa. (Jacob and Franklin Zerbe Fam- 
ily Bibles, and Christ Church records.) 

(^Note — An interesting historical building in Womels- 
dorf is the stone tavern, built 1762, by Jacob Seltzer and 
still known as the Seltzer House. Here Washington stopped 
over night, November 13, 1793. Womelsdorf was then 
called Middletown.) 

Johannes^ (George^ Pteter, Martini),son of George Peter 
and Christina Loucks Zerbe; bap. 1745; m. Maria Margaret 
Aungst, April 2, 1771. Their children were: Johannes, bap. 
February 3, 1772; George Peter and Anna Christina Zerbe, 
sponsors; John George, bap. May 4, 1773; m. Susanna Mil- 
ler, December i, 1799; Peter, bap. May 12, 1781. John Zerbe 
came over the Blue Mountains about 1780 and settled in 
Pinegrove Township, the locality afterward included in 
Manheim. The census of 1790 gives him as having seven 
children. He is supposed to have returned to Berks County 
and his children migrated West from here after his death, 
as none of his branch are located in Schuylkill County. His 
wife died about 1803 and he re-married (Trinity Lutheran 
Church records, Reading). John Zerbe, of Manheim, Berks 
County, January 29, 1805, m. Elizabeth Kronberger, widow, 
of Bern Township. 

Anna3 Maria Zerbe (George^ Peter, Martin^), b. April 25, 
1748, (Christ Church records), d. May 24, 1827, (Jacobs 



2i6 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

Church records) ; m. at Reading, December 20, 1768, (Trinity 
Lutheran Church records) . For additional history see Rieths 
or Reeds, on another page. Of the children of George Peter 
Zerbe, his sons, Peter, Jr., John, Michael and John George, 
were in the Revolutionary War ; Valentine being the only one 
of whom no record is found in the archives. Two sons-in-law, 
Capt. Conrad Minnich and Wagonmaster, Leonard Rieth, 
were also engaged in the struggle.^ 

John Zerbe's record, one of the three John Zerbes, re- 
corded in the Adjutant General's office. War Dept., Washing- 
ton, D. C, Capt. Weaver's company, Berks County, from 
April 5, 1779. 

JOHN GEORGE ZERBE 

John George^ Zerbe, (George- Peter, Martin^), b. April 
24, 1750, d. January 19, 1814, aged 63 years, 8 months and 25 
days. Buried in St. John's Lutheran and Reformed cemetery, 
Friedensburg, Schuylkill County, Pa. ; married Barbara, da. 
of John Bernhard Sponchuchen, June 23, 1778, (Christ Church 
Records, Stouchsburg, Pa.) The text upon his tombstone 
reads : "Gott kann mir das leben wieder geben," 2d Timothy, 
4th Chap. Barbara Sponchuchen, b. March 9, 1758, d. Jan- 
uary 25, 1817, buried in the Reformed cemetery, Orwigs- 
burg, beside her son, Henry Zerbe (first husband of Han- 
nah Miller Schwalm.) Barbara Sponchuchen, wife of (John) 
George Zerbe, after his death lived with her daughter, Mrs. 
Catharine Grieff, between Orwigsburg and Schuylkill Haven, 
until her death, three years later, aged 59 years, i month, 12 
days. 

(Note — Deed book, 12-22, Berks Co. C. H. Deed granted 
John Klinger and wf. Mary, May 11, 1771, for 100 acres of 
land adjoining Deppen and Stephen Lengel, Heidelberg 
Township. The heirs of John Klinger (see Phillip Zerbe, of 
Pinegrove Township), mentioned as: John, Peter, Adam, Bar- 



(Note 1— Part 1, Rev. Records.) 



LA TE JAC05 KEMERUNG 




03 



N.IZT. 136 



- \N.72.L 



^ /v. 72 TO 



rnJ 



so PER 






JO 

c 



S. 72 W. 24-3 



OTHER LANDS OF SAIO DE'C. 



\HBNRYDBa<ERT,Dtc 



LAND OF GEORGE ZERBE, LOCATED, 1785, AT SCHUYLKILL HAVEN. 
PA.. NEAR OLD COVERED BRIDGE, MANHEIM TOWNSHIP. 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 217 

Of the Zerbeys 

bara, wife of Leonard^ Zerbe (John^ the m.) ; Margaret 
Elizabeth, wf. of Christian Witman, Christiana, wf. of Jacob 
Eigler; Elizabeth, wf. of Frederick Rieth, and Catharine Eva, 
wf. of John Bernhard Sponchuchen, parents of Eva Barbara 
Sponchiichen. who married George Zerbe.) 

John Bernhard Sponchuchen wrote his own will, 
date January 27, 1780. Proved, February 21, 1780, 
on record Berks County court house. There were three 
children : Barbara, Catharine and Bastian. The latter is under 
age and John Hubley is named as testamentary guardian. 
Bastian shall have the "plantation" for 40 i. Catharine shall 
have the same as her sister Barbara. One cow, one sheep, a 
hive of bees and her "house stire." The widow had her dower. 
Sebastian Sponchuchen lived in Fredericksburg, Lebanon 
County, about 1800. The "plantation" was between George 
Peter Zerbes and his cousin, John the miller, in Tulpehocken 
and Heidelberg Townships. 

(Note — Barbara, wf. of (John) George Zerbe, September 
21, 1804, sold land to Garson M. Huyett and wf., D. B. 8-321- 
83-) 

(John) George Zerbe lived in Tulpehocken and Heidel- 
berg Townships nearly eight years after his marriage, 1778. 
His father-in-law d. 1780, and his father, George Peter, d. bet. 
i78o-'82. He probably lived between the two plantations. 

REVOLUTIONARY WAR RECORD 

"George Seriver," from Heidelberg Township, Capt. John 
Patton's Co., Lancaster County, 7th Co., 6 Bat., Col. Jas. 
Taylor (c). From the original muster rolls, April 15, 1783, 
public records, Harrisburg. Pennsylvania Archives, Fifth 
Series, Vol. 7, p. 619, (Part i.) 

He took the oath of allegiance March 31, 1777; was on 
the first census list taken in Pennsylvania, 1790, from Berks 
County and appears on the first tax list published in Schuyl- 
kill County, 1810, and on the Brunswick Township list as 



2i8 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

taxpayer, 1787. Two of his children were l)aptized at Host's 
chvirch, Johann Adam and Johannes. 

(Note — The first church at Host's was then both Luth- 
eran and Reformed, now Reformed ; a \og house was built, 

I759-) 

(Note — Heidelberg Township, Lancaster County, was 

divided by the Berks County line, ran 1752. Part 
of the township remained in Lancaster County. Bethel Town- 
ship was also so divided, part being included in Dauphin. 
The Zerbes in Lancaster County did not migrate there from 
Berks, they were in Lancaster when the division was effected. 
Lleidelberg, before the division, comprised all the land south 
of the Tulpehocken creek. Myerstown, Lebanon County, 
where some of the Zerbes settled, and Schaeiferstown, where 
they are numerous, was all in Heidelberg Township, which 
was so named before 1729, when that region was included in 
Chester County, although it was not formally erected until 
1752. Heidelberg Township has been divided into north, 
lower and Heidelberg Townships, since, part as stated, having 
remained in Lancaster County. George "Seriver", of North 
Heidelberg Township, with some of his neighbors, enlisted 
over the line in Lancaster County, where his cousin Valentine 
Zerbe lived.) 

John George Zerbe came to Pinegrove Township, after- 
ward Manheim, to prospect, January 27, 1785, returning to 
the Tulpehocken, February 14th. He came again to settle, 
September 21, 1785. 

November 19, 1788, Benjamin^ Zerbe (John^ the m.. 
Lorentz^), grantor to George Zerbe, grantee, (John^ George) 
was conveyed in said township, 96 acres of land, returned 
October 17, 1837, by George Kerschner, Deed Book 11, p. 102, 
Berks County court house. George Zerbe, warrantee, Man- 
heim Township, February 17, 1791, 170 acres returned Sep- 
tember 18, 1824, by Daniel Shappell.^ 



(Note 1 — Deed Book, Recorder's office, Berks County.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 219 

Of the Zerbeys 

The surveys, acreage and dates of the above and the fol- 
lowing do not altogether correspond, but they refer to the 
same land, as the names of the patentees and the boundaries 
of the land in partition, in the Orphans' Court, Schuylkill 
County, will attest. 

Department of Internal Affairs, Harrisburg, Penna.: 
"George Zerbe, September 21, 1785, surveyed 96 acres of land 
in Brunswick Township, Berks County ; 49 acres, 148 perches 
were patented October 17, 1837, by George Kerschner. An- 
other warrant, February 17, 1791, for a survey of 75 acres, 
6 perches, was returned as land in Manheim Township, Berks 
County. This tract was patented to Daniel Shappell, Sep- 
tember 18, 1824. Benjamin Zerbe (son of John the m.), sold 
land to his brother, George Adam, and his cousin, John 
George. Part of the large tract of 658 acres, patented 1754, 
this side of the Blue Mountain by John, the miller. Benjamin 
Zerbe mortgaged this land and this doubtless accounts for the 
discrepancies in the acreage and dates, he selling the above to 
clear the mortgages. 

1788, Recorder's office, Berks County: "John Zerbe,Sr., the 
miller, gives to Benjamin (his son), of Pinegrove Township, 
for 200 pounds in silver and gold, paid in installments now 
satisfied, land north to John Zerbe, Sr., then to John Zerbe, 
Jr., tract of 658 acres." The land sold to John^ George Zerbe, 
(George^ Peter) and George" Adam (John, the miller), by 
Benjamin^ (John, the miller). 

(Note — The court house records, Dauphin County, show a Benjamin 
"Zerger" who took up four acres additional land, May 17, 1819, and pat- 
ented it May 24, 1820. Benjamin Zerbe lived in that part of Bethel Town- 
ship, Berks County, that was divided, a part of which was included in 
Dauphin County and this land probably belonged to his tract in Bethel, 
the addition being made necessary by the re-division of the townships 
and counties.) 

The tracts were situated on the Schuylkill river (near 
Schuylkill Haven), where the covered bridge crosses the west 
branch, on the Long Run valley road and toward the top of 



220 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

the hill overlooking Cressona. Here George Zerbe conducted 
a fulling mill on the stream, and like all the early Zerbes, 
being inclined to rural life, ran the two farms. 

The situation was ideal. The river then, at the foot of 
the hill, was a clear and limpid stream, north, northeast and 
northwest were the Sharp Mountains and the first and second 
or Tumbling Run spurs of the same range. Far beyond, and 
in the dim distance of where Pottsville was erected almost 
forty years later, was the Broad Mountain range, and south 
to Windsor and stretching to Albany Township was the Blue 
Mountain range, on the other side of which lay the fertile 
valley of the South Mountains, with the rich farming land of 
Pinegrove and Bern Townships, between the latter on both 
sides of the Blue Mountains, making a picture of wild and 
picturesque beauty and cultivated land hard to describe in 
these days of commercial enterprises and money-making 
schemes : "For God made the country, but man made the 
town." Here George Zerbe lived from 1785 to 1814, when 
he died. 

(JOHN) GEORGE AND ANNA BARBARA ZERBE'S 

CHILDREN 

The children of (John) George and Anna Barbara Zerbe 
were: 

Johann Adam Zerbe, b. April 24, bap. May 6, 1779; sponsors, Bern- 
hardt Sponchuchen and wf., grandparents. (Host's Church records.) 

Johannes Zerbe, b. September 27, 1780; bap. October 14, 1780 (Host's 
Church records); m. Elizabeth, a born Zerbe, December 25, 1812, b. 
February 27, 1786, d. March 31, 1838, 

Susanna Catharine b. December 10, 1781; bap. December 20, (Rehers- 
burg Church records); m. Wm. Grieff. 

Eva Margaret, bap. October 9, 1783. Sponsors, Michael Zerbe and wife, 
Anna Maria Donmier, uncle and aunt, (Rehersburg Church records); m. 
Wendel Schwartz. 

George4 Zerbe, b. November 21, 1789; d. June 18, 1865; m. Magdelena, 
da. of Michael and Elizabeth Merkle, b. September 28, 1796, d. July 22, 1871. 

Daniel Zerbe, b. April 3, 1793, d. Feb. 4, 1846, m. Hannah Hummel, b. 
April 14, 1793, d. March 10, 1878. 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 221 

Of the Zerbeys 

Henry Zerbe (Henry and Daniel twins\ b. April 3, 1793, d. February 
14, 1816; m. Hannah Miller, whose second husband was Andrew Schwalm. 

Anna Maria, b. October 18, ITOH; bap. December 11, sponsors, the par- 
ents; m. John Adam Miller, 1815, confirmed 1810, d. August 20, 1856, (St. 
John's Lutheran Church, Friedensburg.) 

Book I, Orphans Court of Schuylkill County, Register's 
office. Estate of George Zerbe, of Manheim Township. 

(John) George Zerbe died intestate. November 3, 1815. 
j)etition of John Adam, eldest son of George Zerbe, who died 
January 19, 1814, leaving widow Barbara and eight (8) chil- 
dren, to wit : Your petitioner, John Adam, John, George, 
Henry, Daniel, Eve, wife of Wendel Schwartz ; Catharine, 
wife of Wm. Grieff ; Maria, still a minor but married to John 
Adam Miller. The land in Manheim Township, bounded by 
land of George Berkheiser and the Schuylkill river, about 97 
acres, and another plantation bounded by the Schuylkill and 
land of Jacob Dreibelbeis, of 130 acres, also a lot of ground 
in the town of Friedensburg, number six. The petition for 
a partition of estate was granted at the court house, Orwigs- 
burg, and the estate appraised 97^ acres, 130 acres, in all 
228 acres, at 11 pounds and 18 shillings per acre. The lot in 
Friedensburg brought 40 dollars. 

(Note — The currency of Pennsylvania was by Act of Parliament made 
in the sixth year of the reign of Queen Anne for the Plantations of 
America. One shilling and four pence was of equal value to one shilling 
sterling, and twenty shillings equalled one pound. 

(Manuscript 1, Chester County, 1684 to 1847, Vol. 2, p. 95.) 

Johann Adam Zerbe was six years old when his parents 
removed from the Tulpehocken to "Brunswick" (Manheim) 
Township, and thirty-six when he petitioned the court for a 
division of his father's estate. Tradition says he lived in 
Bern Township. He was married, 1804 (Summer Hill Church 
records). John George, son of Anna Maria and John Adam 
Zerbe, b. November 17, 1805, bap. February 23, 1806, sponsors, 
(John) George and Anna Barbara Zerbe, grandparents. He 
is supposed to have migrated north to Northumberland 
County and thence to Lycoming or Clearfield County. 



222 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

Johannes Zerbe, was born in the Tulpehocken and re- 
moved at the age of five years with the family to Manheim 
Township. He returned early to Bern Township, where he 
lived until his death ; both he and his wife being buried at 
Belleman's church, Centre Township, Berks County. He 
married Elizabeth^ Zerbe, (George^ John^ the m., Lorentz"^.) 
She was the third child of George" Zerbe, (Revolutionary War 
soldier) ; m. to Christina Wenrich and was raised near Wom- 
elsdorf. Sybilla, wf. of Daniel Class, was a sister of Elizabeth. 

(Note — George Zerbe on another page.) 

The children of Johnl Zerbe and Elizabeth, a born Zerbe, were: 

Maria Zerbe, b. March 29, 1814; d. June 28, 1866; m. Jonathan Bag- 
enstose. 

The children of Jonathan Bagenstose and Maria Zerbe were: Elias, 
John, Catharine and Daniel, d. 

Israel Bagenstose, Center Twp., Berks Co.; b. November 25, 1833. 

William Bagenstose, Center Twp., Berks Co.; b. September 20, 1835. 

Henry Bagenstose, Center Twp., Berks Co., b. September 23, 1849. 

Isaac Bagenstose, Mahanoy City, Schuylkill Co., Pa.; b. November 
26, 1847. 

Levi Bagenstose, Downingtown, Chester Co., b. September 9, 1851. 

Sarah, b. March 13, 1843; m. Mayberry Leimbach, Centre Township, 
Berks Co. 

Darius, d., buried, St. Michael's cemetery. Upper Bern Twp. 

Daniel Zerbe, b. January 13, 1823; d. February 13, 1872; wf. Susanna 
Althouse, d. Children: Howard M. Zerbey, Orwigsburg, Schuylkill Co.; m.; 
two daughters d., in infancy. Operator in shoe manufactory. 

John A. Zerbey, Centreport, Berks County; m., one daughter, wf. of 
Willis Rentschler, same place. 

HON. DANIEL ZERBE 

Daniel'' Zerbe, son of John^ lived at Belleman's church, 
near Bernville. He disliked farming and was largely self 
educated, fitting himself for the profession of school teacher. 
He was the organist at Belleman's church, Justice of the 
peace and a member of the Pennsylvania Legislature, 1849-50 
and 1853. Daniel Zerbe was one of fifty-four signers who, in 
November 1820, petitioned the county Court of Quarter Ses- 
sions for a division of Tulpehocken Township, and was a 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 223 

Of the Zerbeys 

vie^ver. He filled many offices of public trust in the township 
ill which he lived. He died at the age of 49 years. 

This branch of the family are all buried at Bellcman's 
cemetery. 

Susanna Catherine Zerbe, wf. of Wm. Grieff. Their chil- 
dren were : 

Daniel Grief, b. March 26. 1812; bap. May 10; sponsors, George and 
Barbara Zerbe, grandparents. (Summer Hill church records.) 

William Grief, m. Sarah Moll. 

Anna Maria Grief, d., single; b. June 9, 1812; bap. August 'J; spon- 
sor, Anna Maria Zerbe. 

Phoebe Grief, d., single. 

Elizabeth, wf. of Daniel Hillegas. 

Catharine, wf. of Phillip Weiser, grandson of Conrad Weiser. 

Susan, wf. of Henry Krebs. 

Rebecca, wf. of John Ege. 

Sarah, first wife of Jeremiah Yeager. 

Louisa, second wife of Jeremiah Yeager. 

Jeremiah Yeager died in California. His daughter, Louisa, single, 
lives in Orwigsburg. 

William Grieff was born in the Rhenish Palatinate, 

Zweibruck. He came to this country with the soldiers for 

the British crown. He was in the battle of Trenton, where 

he was taken prisoner and confined in the prison pen at 

Reading- for an entire winter, suffering- untold hardships. 

Like many of these unfortunates, he was not a free agent in 

the matter, but was pressed into the service of the King. 

He came to Schuylkill County before its erection and made 

a most exemplary citizen. He served as steward of the 

almshouse for nine years, and filled other offices of trust. He 

lived for a time on the turnpike where the trolley road from 

Schuylkill Haven makes the bend, opposite Thomas Kerns' 

farm, where stood the old stone grist mill which he ran and 

where his mother-in-law, Mrs. George Zerbe (Barbara 

Sponchuchen), died. He afterward removed to Orwigsburg. 

where lie lived until his death. 

(Note — The Grieffs are mainly buried in the "New 
Jerusalem" cemetery, Spring Garden, Schuylkill Haven.) 



224 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

Daniel GrieflP, son of Catharine Zerbe and Wm. Grieff, wf. Maria 
Krebs, da. of Col. Jacob Krebs, who was a member of Congress from 
Berks and Schuylkill Counties for four years, and in the Legislature for 
eight consecutive years. The Krebs family lived near where the Schuyl- 
kill County almshouse now stands. Mrs. Jacob Huntzinger was a daugh- 
ter of Jacob Krebs. (Miss Alice Krebs (Daniel Krebs), assistant to post- 
master, Pottsville, is a descendant of Jacob Krebs.) Daniel and Maria 
Grieff had two sons and nine daughters, among whom were: Mrs. Lewis 
Kimmel, Orwigsburg; Mrs. Morgan Reed, d.; and Charles Grieff, d., single, 
both of Pottsville. 

(Note — Charles Grieff was for many years bookkeeper at the "Daily 
Republican" newspaper office, Pottsville, Pa.) 

The descendants of Wm. Grieff live at Port Clinton and Cressona. 

Eva Margaret Zerbe, m. George Wendel Schwartz, son 
of Peter and Catharine Schwartz; b. November 9, 1781. 
Was a taxable in Berks County before Schuylkill was erect- 
ed, 181 1, when he appears on the tax list in Pinegrove Town- 
ship. The duplicate shows him in 1820 as being the second 
highest in valuation in that township. In 1829, when the 
township was divided, his farm was included in Wayne 
Township. He married Eva'* Zerbe. George Wendel 
Schwartz and wife Eva are buried in St. John's cemetery, 
PViedensburg, (Rehersburg, Berks County, church records.) 
Their children were : 

George Schwartz, who moved north along the Susquehanna river, 
and died there. 

Daniel Schwartz, who lived east of Pinegrove; c, John, Daniel (con- 
tractor), both of Pinegrove; William, d., farmer, of Washington Twp.; 
Joseph, Cressona, d. 1912; son, Charles, Pine Grove. Other children: 
John Adam Schwartz, b. February 7, 1787; Michael, bap. April 17, 1789, 
taxable in Pine Grove Township, 1820; Elizabeth, m. John Herring. 

Catharine, m. Daniel Zerbe, Sr., lived east of Pinegrove. 
Their children were : 

August 1, 1824, Daniel Zerbe, Jr. 

February 20, 1826, Levi Zerbe. 

April 20, 1828, Jared Zerbe. 

December 19, 1830, Louisa, d. 1853. 

June 2, 1832, Edward Zerbe. 

July 24, 1834, Solomon Zerbe. 

January 4, 1836, Mary Ann Zerbe. 

June 29, 1837, Levi Zerbe. 

1840, Kate Zerbe. 

(Hetzel's church records, Washington Twp., Schuylkill Co.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 225 

Of the Zerbeys 

Benneville Hummel, father of Hon. Ed. Hummel, was married to the 
above Louisa Zerbe. Mrs. Jacob Luckenbill, of Schuylkill Haven, was 
a daughter. 

HERRING FAMILY TRADITION 

Jonathan Herring— Shortly after the formation of 
Schuylkill County a man and woman came over the moun- 
tain from Berks County to Pinegrove Township. They 
drove a fine span of horses with a light wagon of city make. 
It being near the noon hour, they alighted at a farm house, 
where the horses were fed and the couple took dinner. 

With them was a lusty infant boy, of about a year old, 
which the woman nursed and to which both seemed much 
attached. It being a very warm day, the infant slept on the 
bed of the farmer's wife, and the supposed mother plead 
with their hostess that the baby be permitted to sleep on 
until they returned. The man having related a plausible 
story of their coming to locate on a tract of land several 
miles up the valley, they would return by sundown, and with 
the farmer's permission, remain over night and then depart 
over the mountain for their goods and chattels and remove 
to the tract. 

The sun went down and the day closed, as well as sev- 
eral more, but the pair did not return. The farmer made 
inquiries in several directions, but no trace of the team or 
the man and woman was ever found or heard of. 

From the fact that the infant was well supplied with a 
good stock of fine clothing, which was left at the farm house, 
it was surmised that the couple came there with the inten- 
tion of abandoning the child in a good home, if they found it. 

The boy was a healthy and handsome child. The farmer 
and his wife became very much attached to him and raised 
him as their own. He did not disappoint his foster-parents 
and made good, owning one of the best farms in Washington 
Township at the time of his death. 



226 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

John Herring, as he was known, was married to Eliza- 
l)eth Schwartz, daughter of Wendel and Eva Schwartz. Of 
this union was born six sons and two daughters. 

Jonathan Herring was born January 3, 1840. He lived 
in Washington Township all his life. He was engaged in the 
civil war under Col. Daniel Nagle and was a member of 
Wolfe Post, G. A. R. He was married to IMary Ann 
Schwartz, daughter of John and Eva Schwartz, by whom he 
had nine children, live sons and four daughters. — Pottsville 
"Re])ublican." 

(Note — -The above was related the author by Jonathan Herring, <I.) 

DANIEL ZERBE, CRESSONA 

Daniel Zcrbe. Wf., Hannah Hummel; b.. April 14. 1793; 
d. March 10, 1878. They had one daughter. Hannah (Merkle 
History), and owned a fine tract of land on the outskirts of 
Cressona. Daniel Zerbe worked on the canal, was a sub 
contractor on the Mine Hill Railway when it was being 
built and was in the truck and milk business, in which he 
was prosperous. The family home, a large, white, well built 
farm house, is still standing. He was a deacon in the "New 
Jerusalem," or "White Church," January i, 1827, and in the 
church council, having signed the constitution December 
26, 1825, and a deacon, 1834. He was a Lutheran and a 
deacon before the church was built and appears on the list 
of contributors at the dedication. Daniel Zerbe and wife arc 
both buried in the cemetery of this church, the date of their 
births and deaths were obtained from their tombstones. 

Martin Dreibelbis donated land upon which the old 
school house was built and which was used for the first church 
services by both congregations. The first service was held 
December, 1820, and February 11, 1821, George Mennig began 
to serve as pastor. The school house was still used October 
7, 1827. The corner stone was laid at that time and the 
"White Church" was dedicated June i, 1828. William Men- 
nig was elected pastor May 24, 1834. A division in the church 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 227 

Of the Zerbeys 



occurred and ^reat bitterness of feeling followed. Henry 
Strauch retired. Many of the church records were lost or 
mislaid in the confusion. It is related that Avhen the church 
was to be built, 1S26, it was proposed to hold a lottery and 
tickets were fixed at ^2.00. \\'m. Grieff's name was on the 
hand bills and tickets, among- others. Jacob Krebs, a member 
of the church and a member of the Legislature, prevailed 
upon them to withdraw the project. 

Henry Zerbe, whose Avife was Hannah Miller, who after- 
ward married Andrew Schwalm, was born in Manheim Town- 
ship, in the Long Run valley. He learned the trade of car- 
pentering and while engaged at work had a sunstroke, from 
wdiich an attack of typhoid fever resulted and from the effects 
of which he died, aged 22 years, 10 months and 11 days. 
(Tombstone. St. John's Reformed cemetery, Orwigsburg.) 
He was married October 8, 181 5, and died after four months 
and 14 days' wedlock, leaving a posthumous son, Henry. 

HENRY ZERBE, LEWISTOWN, MIFFLIN CO. 

Henry^ Zerbe (Henry^.) On the death of Henry Zerbe. 
Sr., his father-in-law, Andrew Miller, took out letters of ad- 
ministration, ]\Iarch 28, 1816, on his real and personal estate, 
the heirs of his father, George Zerbe, having petitioned the 
court for a settlement of their father's estate, November 3, 
181 5. (x\ndrcw Miller signed in the German script. Regis- 
ter's office, Schuylkill County court house.) 

Hannah Miller, wf. of Henry* Zerbe, d., petitioned the 
Orphans' Court, of the County of Schuylkill, for a guardian 
for Henry Zerbe, a minor, of Orwigsburg, issue f)f Henry 
Zerbe, deceased. Michael Graefif was appointed bv the court, 
1816. 

Henry^ Zerbe, when fourteen years of age, (1830), asks 
the court to allow him to choose a guardian for himself, and 
Andrew Schwalm, his stepfather, was appointed. (Orphans' 
Court book, Schuylkill County C. H.) 



238 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

Henry Zerbe was early inured to hard work and after a 
series of interchangeable fortunes, working in Schuylkill and 
other counties, he drifted, after the age of 21, to Lewistown, 
Mififlin County, Pa., where he engaged in the mercantile 
business, amassing considerable property and became a 
wealthy man for those days. Lewistown was then the ter- 
minus for the Union Canal and a large amount of trading was 
done at that point with the farmers of the Juniata Valley. 
The completion of the building of the Pennsylvania Railroad 
over the Alleghenies and the abandonment of the canal cur- 
tailed the business opportunities which had enriched many. 
Ilenry Zerbe was a prominent citizen of Lewistown and oc- 
cupied many positions of public trust and was held in the 
highest esteem by his fellow citizens ; he took but little inter- 
est in politics but did much for the business advancement of 
his home town. Pie was a Presbyterian in his church af- 
filiations. 

Henry^ Zerbe (Henry'*, John-' George, George- Peter, 
Martin^), posthumous son of Henry* Zerbe, was born at Or- 
wigsburg, Schuylkill County, Pa., August 8, 1816, and died 
at Lewistown, Mifflin County, December 16, 1876. He was 
twice married. First wf., Matilda Spiece, b. at Lewistown, 
September 21, 1819; m. May i, 1842; d., November 23, 1848. 
Children: Mary Jane, b. April 25, 184.4, <i- September 2, 1848; 
Hannah Catharine, b. April 6, 1846; d. August 8, 1858. 

Henry Zerbe, second wf. Hannah Maria Rittenhouse; b. 
in Lewistown, December 24, 1825 ; d. January 20, 1905 ; m. 
January i, 1850. The children of Henry Zerbe and wf., Han- 
nah Maria Rittenhouse, da. of Joseph Rittenhouse and Su- 
sanna McFadden, were : 

Charles Andrew, b. November 9, 1850; d. June 20, 1914; m. Cartie 
Burns Allison, March 18, 1880; c: Fred. Allison, b. March 19, 1881; single; 
in the insurance business, also in the cement business in Philadelphia; 
Charles Andrew, b. June 9, 1886, d. 

Mrs. Zerbe is a granddaughter of Gen. Burns, d., a prominent citizen of 
early Lewistown and a leading factor in Pennsylvania politics during 
and preceding the Civil War. Charles Zerbe was destined for the Law, 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 229 

Of the Zerbeys 

his sight being impaired, he abandoned the study and was engaged in the 
insurance business at the time of his death, having filled various offices 
of trust in his native town in the interim. 

Henry Rittenhouse Zerbe, b. May 9, 1853; m. Ella Lida Firoved, b. 
March 20, 1857. No children. Stovedealer and tinsmith. Lives retired in 
handsome home. 

Edward Miller Zerbe, b. June 1, 1857; died, single, December 11, 1898. 

Frank J. Zerbe, b. August 18, 1860, single. Broker at the Exchange, 
Philadelphia. 

The above deceased arc buried at St. Mark's Episcopal cemetery, 
Lewistown, Mifflin County, Pa. 

(Note — William Rittenhouse, b. 1GC4, in the principality of Broich. 
near the city of Mulheim on the Ruhr. He lived in Amsterdam, where 
he took the oath of citizenship, June 23, 1678. He emigrated to New 
York, 1688, and came to Germantown, Phila., 1690. He erected the first 
paper mill in America. He was the founder of the family to which David 
Rittenhouse, astronomer and statesman, belonged. The Rittenhouse fam- 
ily of Lewistown trace their ancestry back to the early founders of the 
family name in Germantown, Phila.) 

JOHN ADAM MILLER 

John Adam Miller, son of Heinrich Miller and Christina 
Sheppen, b. August 27, 1793, Bern Township, Berks Count}^ 
married Anna"* Maria Zerbe, (John^ George, George^ Peter, 
Martin^), of Manheim Township, Schuylkill County, about 
January i, 181 5. He removed with his family to Centre 
County, near Bellefonte, about 1819, where he took up a tract 
of land and farmed it. He became prosperous, his family 
owning several of the richest farms in that vicinity, some of 
them having retired and renting their homesteads, live in the 
city, where they also own property. John Adam and Anna 
Maria Zerbe Miller had six children. His second wife, with 
whom he had no issue, was Mrs. Catharine Spangler, who died 
May 5, 1877. Adam Miller d. March 17, 1871. Children: 

Henry Miller, b. October 30, 1816, in Bern Township, Berks County, 
came to Centre County, when about three years of age, with his parents, 
where he became a prominent and prosperous farmer. He m. Catharine 
Miess, b. December 9, 1815, d. April 11, 1888. Henry Miller, d. May 24, 
1881. Their children were: 

William Henry Miller, b. April 11, 1844; d. January 23, 1907; m. Mary 
Ann Hoy, May 2, 1865, b. June 11, 1844; c, Sarah Emma, b. 1865, m., 1890, 
Charles Garis, b. 1868, d. 1898, at Spanish American War Hospital, Chicka- 
mauga. Children: William Henry, m. Lettie Reese, one child, Bessie 



230 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

Louise; Catharine Ann, b. 1867, m. 1895, Charles E. Wetzel, b. 1866, c: 
Mary Elizabeth and Susan, d., twins, b. 1896; Miles Thomas, b. 1899; 
Emma Caroline, b. 1903; Margaret Miller, b. October 4, 1845, d. 1893; 
Henry A., b. 1874, d. 1890. 

Mary Margaretha Miller, b. October 4, 1845; d. September 15, 1851. 

Sarah Jane, b. September 2, 1847, m. October 5, 1880, to John J. Musser, 
b. March 29, 1829, d. January 7, 1901. One daughter, Katharine S., b. 
March 11, 1883. 

(Note — Mrs. Musser and daughter live in their own apartments in a 
business block, Bellefonte, Mrs. Musser owning the building.) 

John Adam, b. July 9, 1849. 

Anna Eliza, b. June 18, 1854; m. 1893, to John A. Slack. 

Mary'^ Miller (John'-* y\(larn, Heinrich^), b. September 27. 
1821, d. April 2, 1878; m. Samuel Greeniiiger. Children: 

Thomas Greeninger, m. Caroline Spangler; no c, Tylersville, Penna. 
Daniel, m. western woman. Seven children live in the West, Jane, m. 
Luther Schreckengast; d., twelve c; Blanche m. Mark Shade, of Brush 
Valley, Centre Co.; two c, Edward and one da.; Cyrus, m., two c. live 
near Laureltov/n, Pa.; Frances, m. Wm. Preston, of State College, twelve 
children, nine of whom are living. Bertha m. Charles Taylor, Huntington, 
Pa., two sons, Erie, d.; m. John Huss, Spring Mills; two children, 
Jennie and George; Hamilton E. m. Mattle Weaver, Farmer's Mills, Centre 
County, five c. Earl, Ruth, Pearl and Mary; Bessie m. John Guthrie, 
Philadelphia; da., Ruth. Mary m. Dr. Hibner, Bethlehem, c, Harold and 
Hildred; Lillie m. John Hanna, Boalsburg, Pa., seven children; Samuel, 
m., one child, Altoona; Harry m. Lottie Armbruster, Farmer's Mills, Pa.; 

son, Martin. Edna m. Hickernel, Colorado; Rebecca m. Scott Kers- 

tetter; six children. Glen Iron, Pa.; Daisy m. Wm. M. Luse, two c, Centre 
Hall, Pa. Margaret and Helen; Samuel, Cleveland and Sumner, of White- 
fish, Montana, all single; Thomas, single; Jennie m. Royston Powi'll; 
da. Geraldine, Glen Iron, Pa. 

Ammon Miller, m. Rebecca Wolf, Philadelplvia; c, Kinley, twice mar- 
ried, da. Helen; Bessie, Lottie Mary, single; Minnie, m., two children; 
Thomas, d.; Edward, m., two c. 

Orpha Miller, m. Herman Bressler, Corning, N. Y.; c, Eva and Maude; 
Elizabeth m. James Cooney, da. Minnie m. — Heisher; c, Thomas and 
James. 

Harriet Miller, m. Leonard Schreckengast; c, Mary, m. Samuel Strayer; 
da. Mary, m., live in the West; Alfred, m., one c, Tylersville, Pa.; Han- 
nah m. J. H. Lutz; six c, Flemington, Pa. 

Elizabeth Miller, b. June 2, 1819; d. May 1, 1887; m. Joseph Kleck- 
ner, d. 

Jchn Adam Miller, b. June 2, 1837; d. May 14, 1900; m. January 3, 
1858, Mary Ann, da. of Frederick and Catharine Esterline, b. April 23, 
1837; five children, two died in infancy; Edwin M., b. June 21, 1867, m. 
Regie Swartz, d.; son, Randall. Second wf., Sarah Aigler, two sons, 
Stanley and Ward Curtis; Edwin Miller, a physician, Beavertown, Pa. 
Melissa Grace Miller, b. February 7, 1864, m. Geoi'ge S. Frank, a physician, 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 231 

Of the Zerbeys 



no children, Millheim, Pa.; Adelia, Catharine b. December 21, 1878, m. 
Chauncy Frankenberger, da., Rhoda Grace, b. February 28, 1897, State 
College, Pa. 

Rebecca Miller (Adam and Anna Maria Zerbe Miller), b. October 2, 
1830; d. April 17, 1838. 

Children of Harriet and Leonard Schreckengast: Mary, m. Samuel 
Strayer, Shickley, Nebraska; three children, Alfred, Effenger and Minnie, 
m., three children. 

Alfred, b. June 27, 1847, m. Amanda Lutz, da. Tolitha, m., two children; 
Alfred's second wife, Agnes Greeninger, one son, Charles, m., two chil- 
dren; Hannah, b. September 17, 1853, m. J. H. Lutz, seven children, live 
at Flemington, Pa.; Kathryn, m. Samuel Miller, two children, Miriam and 
Ralph; Mary, m. John Lair, four children, Florence, Eleanor, Laura and 
Dorothy; Harry, m. Pearl Englert, da. Marguerite; Meda, m. Raymond 
Stabley, three children. Hazel, Julia and Clarence; Irvin, John and Flor- 
ence are single. 

(Note — Johnl Adam Miller removed from Bern Township, Berks 
County, Pa., to Miles Township, Centre County, Pa., about 1818.) 

The author is indebted to Mrs. Melissa Grace Miller, wife of Dr. 
George S. Frank, of Millheim, Pa., and to Miss Katharine Musser, of 
Bellefonte, for assistance in the compilation of the above. 

MONEY TALKS 

John Adam Miller's wife, Anna Maria Zerbe. died and 
he wanted to marry again. He came to Orwigsburg to get a 
wife and paid his addresses to the widow of his nephew, Dan- 
iel Grieff. The aged suitor was a prosperous man and while 
he made his proposal drew from his inner pocket a purple vel- 
vet bag, lined with yellow silk, untied the strings and poured 
the contents, several handsful of golden eagles and large 
golden coins, on the table. "Money talks," he said. "Yes, 
but not loud enough to me," said she, and he scooped up his 
gold and went elsewhere. 

AN EARLY CHRISTMAS 

One of the children asked the grandmother, Barbara 
Zerbe, if they kept Christmas and what they did to observe 
it? Why, yes; certainly, she said, the children of those days 
did not have much to celebrate Christmas with, but what they 
had they enjoyed as much, or more than, those of today. We 
lived in the country and brought from the forest branches of 



332 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

the green fir trees which were placed over the doors, on top 
of the clock and glasses and china cupboard. The red thorn 
berries in bunches were tied up around. On the "Dresser" 
(sideboard) we placed two long rows of apples, red and green, 
that had been selected and highly polished. Between these 
rows were piled up in heaps chestnuts, walnuts and hickory 
nuts. We had small cakes cut with tin patterns. A few 
of these were ornamented with pink and white sugar. The 
only candy we knew of were small pink and white buttons 
of sugar, dropped in rows on white paper and long sticks 
of hoarhound and dark sugar candy, home-made and not 
very often or plenty at that. We popped corn and roasted 
chestnuts and then, why, Yes ! of course, we had a roasted 
goose for our Christmas dinner, and our presents were useful 
articles of clothing: a pair of new shoes, a linsey wolsey 
dress or a knitted scarf or cap (hauben). 

(Grandmother Barbara was born in 1758. Susan Griefif, 
wife of Henry Krebs, was the grandchild above referred to.) 

FOURTH GENERATION— GEORGE ZERBE 

George Zerbe, was born in the Long Run valley, the 
first farm from the Schuylkill Haven covered bridge. The 
farmhouse stood on the crest of the hill and was later occu- 
pied by Daniel Bartlett, who purchased part of the land ; 
it was razed several years ago to make room for a more 
modern building. He rented a farm in the Panther Valley 
(Bender Thai), the land adjacent to Dr. F. W. Boyer's farm, 
and was the tract afterward owned by Mrs. George Frey, 
of Cressona. His marriage took place shortly after his 
father's death, 1814, and the family lived on this tract, where 
all but the three youngest children were born, until 1836. 

(Note — George Zerbe was confirmed October 20, 1805, at IG years 
of age. (St. John's Lutheran church records, Friedensburg.) 

February 13, 1836, George Zerbe took out a deed, Sam- 
uel Kimmel, Grantee, for a tract of land in West Brunswick 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 233 

Of the Zerbeys 

Township, a mile and a quarter below Orwigsburg. This 
tract was surrounded by lands of Daniel Hummel, Phillip 
Wernert, Daniel Schoener and Peter Hummel. May i, 1838, 
he bought an addition to this tract from Peter Hummel. 
(Deed book, Schuylkill Co. C. H.) He cleared the land and 
built a log house for his family which was succeeded by a 
large white painted farm house in later years. The land was 
not very productive and the family and hired help worked 
hard and incessantly until it became so. They planted their 
own flax and spun and wove their own linen, carpets, cloths 
and woolen coverlets, in a small log building erected on the 
farm, which was installed with looms, spinning wheels, 
carders, etc. (Some of the linen is still in possession of 
members of the family.) Everything possible was raised 
upon the farm as the acreage was limited and the family 
large. 

George* Zerbe, (John^ George, George" Peter, Martin^), 
b. November 21, 1789; d. June 18, 1865; wf., Magdelena Mer- 
kle, da. of MichaeP (Peter^) and Elizabeth (Ebert) Merkle, 
b. September 28, 1796; d. July 22, 1871. Both buried in the 
Lutheran cemetery, Orwigsburg. Their children were: 

Eliza, b. June 11, 1815; wf. of Daniel Jones; d. February 14, 1895. 

Daniel Luther, b. December 14, 1817; wf., Catharine Gass; d. March 
30, 1892. 

Catharine, b. April, 1823; wf. of Jacob Bock; d. December 19, 1869. 

William Merkle, b. January 22; bap. May 1st, 1824, at Red church. 
Sponsors, Wm. Grieff and wf. Catharine; wf. Sarah L. Schwalm. 

Sarah, b. February 15, 1826; d. May 18, 1901; m. Perry Eaton. 

Matilda Merkle, b. May 1, 1830; d. September 3, 1886; wf. of Samuel 
B. Graeff. 

Magdelena, b. September 11, 1833; d., single, November 19, 1906. 

George M., b. July 2, 1836; d. January 1, 1839. 

Henry, b. 1838; d. in Philadelphia, 1896; wf., Caroline Hammer, d. 
Children: George, Howell, Henry, d. ; his son Harry is a letter carrier 
in Spring City, Philadelphia; Melissa. 

Susanna, b. 1840, d. in Philadelphia. Husband, Jacob Buehler, d. 
Children: four sons. Jacob Buehler was a soldier in the Civil War, a 
member of the 96th regiment, Schuylkill County Volunteers. 



234 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

Eliza Zerbe, \vf. of Daniel Jones, m. 1838. His father, 
Charles Jones, came over the Blue Mountain from Berks 
County and settled in Brunswick Township (Berks Co.) 
prior to 1800. He was a farmer and shoemaker. Daniel and 
Reuben Jones were bap. at the Red Church ; Daniel, b. March 
3, 1816, d. August 13, 1886. (Reuben was the father of Reu- 
ben Jones, clerk in the Miners' National Bank, Pottsville, 
since 1878.) Daniel Jones was a shoemaker by trade and 
after his marriage lived in the vicinity of Landingville. He 
removed to Bucyrus, Ohio, in the late 'forties and thence to 
Washington, Tazewell County, 111., 1855, where he purchas- 
ed a farm, living on it eight years, and then removed into 
the town and engaged in the shoe business, in which he be- 
came prosperous. The children of Eliza Zerbe and Daniel 
Jones were : 

George Jones, b. November 11, 1830; d. December 23, 185G. 

Katharine, b. January 4, 1840; m. Ezra Lee, Florida fruit grower, 
since 187G. A daughter, wf. of Dr. Nelson W. Francis, managing physi- 
cian of St. Catharine's Hospital, Jacksonville, Fla. 

Charles, b. March 4, 1841; d. June 10, 18G3, 

Sarah, b. September 30, 1842; m. December 6, 1866, George Zinser, 
cashier Peoria, 111., bank; c, Hattie Wookey, b. September 28, 1867, m. 
October 28, 1891; Maude, b. November 30, 1870; d. August IG, 1872. 

Emma, b. June 16, 1844; m. Wm. LeConte; c, Danforth and Gilman, 
Iroquois County, 111., farmer. 

William, carpenter and contractor, Washington, 111.; b. December 10, 
1849; m. Emma Snyder, December 18, 1873; c. Charles E., b. April 24, 1876, 
m. December 5, 1898; Harry Lee, b. May 10, 1880, m. February 12, 1912; 
Herbert E.. b. January 1, 1886, m. October 21, 1909; Mabel L., b. August 
9, 18S8. 

Mary E., b. April 4, 1851, single, lives with her sister in Florida. 

Matilda, b. June IG, 1853, m. Kyer, December 27, 1876; d. January 

1, 1882; c: Jesse, b. September 19, 1878, m. May 10, 1902; Robert, b. Feb- 
ruary 29, 1880. 

Daniel Luther Zerbe — His wife, Catharine Gass (Gars), 
was born in Northumberland County, where the Gars emi- 
grated from Berks. Mother, Mary, da. of Mathias Kersh- 
ner, b. June, 1785; d. September 29, 1873 (buried in Odd 
Fellows' cemetery, Pottsville, Pa.) ; Henry Gars, son-in-law 
of Jacob Phillips, is buried in Alsace church cemetery, near 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 235 

Of the Zerbeys 



Reading. He had four children, one of whom was Henry, 
John living at Adamsdale, Schuylkill County; w^f., 



Strauss, from Schuylkill Haven. Daniel Zerbe lived in 
Pottsville from 1842 until his death ; he was a carpenter and 
builder. The children of Daniel and Catharine Zerbe were: 

Martha J. Zerbe, b. May, 1847; d. May 24, 1899; m. Aaron W. Keefer 
d., of Pottsville, Jan. 21, 1870, who was twice married; their children 
were: Clara E., wf. of Wm. B. Bergman, of Ashland; 1 c, d.; Ellen J d 
wife of Thomas Hadesty, m. August 8, 1900; 1 c; d. 1914; Millie, teacher 
in the public schools; Florence A., and Arabella L., wf. of Mordecai 
Brobst, Pottsville. 

Mary A. Zerbe, b. 1849, single. 

Anna L. Zerbe, b. 1851, d. October 30, 1901; teacher in the public 
schools. 

Lillie Zerbe, b. 1853, taught in public school, Port Clinton. 

Emma E. Zerbe. b. 1854, d. September 26, 1901; teacher in public 
schools. 

Wm. Luther Zerbe, b. 1856, d. 1913; single; mechanician, in chai-e 
of the telephone switchboard at the Reading Co. shops at the time of 
his death. 

Catharine Zerbe, m. Jacob Bock, son of William Bock, 
born at Hamburg, 1790, and grandson of Balthaser Bock, h. 
in the Province of Hessen, Germany, 1747. He came to 
America, 1755, settling in Berks County (History in Part i.) 
Jacob Bock, b. August 13, 1822, d. July 11, 1885. He was a 
member of the Evangelical church, a soldier in the Civil War 
and lived near New Ringgold. The children of Jacob and 
Catharine Bock were : 

Mary, d., wf. of William Nester one c. 

Charles, b. 1846; m., lives in Portland, Ore., family Catholic Has 
several children, da. Susan. Builder and contractor and prosperous. 

Franklin, d. March 4, 1870, aged three years. 

Susan, wf. of Rev. George A. Knerr, Lutheran minister. Ambler, Pa. 

Sallie, single, lives in Philadelphia. 

The Bock family home at New Ringgold was one of the 
historical buildings of Schuylkill County. It was a roomy 
log house built by Bernard Kepner, 1769, and was a road 
house on the King's Highway from Philadelphia to Sunbury. 
He also donated the ground upon wdiich Frieden's church 
now stands, the log church being built several years later. 



236 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

Kepner was 89 years old when he died. His son-in-law, 
John Adam Will, lived in the old house for many years. 
They were succeeded by William Knittle and afterward by 
William Leibich. Jacob Bock bought the place but fol- 
lowed other occupations, mainly sub-contracting- for the 
Little Schuylkill Railway. Tenants occupied the house until 
in the '90's, when it was razed and the rocky and stony 
ground dynamited and Tilghman Rex, the purchaser, erected 
a handsome, modern residence on the site. 

(Note — B. Morgan W^ill, of New Ringgold, eighty-six 
years old, 1914, and six years of age when his grandfather, 
Bernard Kepner, died, contributed the above information.) 

(Note — The old log school house, known as Frieden's 
church, was built 1771. In 1796 it was decided not to en- 
large the school house, but build a second church aside of it. 
This church was dedicated March 19, 1798. It was enlarged 
or rebuilt 1828 and dedicated October of the same year. 
Cornerstone of the third church, one of the most picturesque 
in the county, was laid May 30, 1875. The first baptismal 
record: 1779. Third child of Andrew Young and wf. Mag- 
delena. Bap. record in old catechism in church archives. 
1801, April 6, bap. Johannes, son of Solomon Whetstone, 
Jan. 3, 1808, Jacob Whetstone a sponsor, Henry Merkle a 
sponsor, 1804. July 14, 1804, Phillip Schwartz, Rev. soldier, 
l)ap. a son, Jacob. (Revolutionary Record.) 

Sarah Zerbe, m. Oliver Perry Eaton, 1848, who was b. 
in Carroll Co., New Hampshire, October 16, 1826; d. in 
Washington, Illinois, February 27, 1866. His parents re- 
moved from New Hampshire to Boston, Massachusetts, and 
later settled in Shamokin, Northumberland County, Pa. 
After his marriage Perry removed to Lowell, Massachusetts, 
subsequently returning to Shamokin, 1850. Perry Eaton was 
a jeweler. He was a soldier in the three years' service of the 
Civil War. The couple were married in Pottsville, Pa. Four 
children died in youth. 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 237 

Of the Zerbeys 

The children of Perry and Sarah Eaton were : 

Clara, b. in Lowell, Mass., February 22, 1849; m. Isaac Graves, 1878, 
whereabouts unknown. 

Albion Fillmore Eaton, b. September 7, 18.50, in Shamokin, Pa.; 
wf., Jennie Jackson, b. December 2B, 1855, Warsaw 111.; m. December 2fi, 
1877; lives at Decatur, 111. Children. Delia, b. May 25, 1881, m. C. A. 
Imboden, of Decatur, 111., July 20, ]910; Bertha E., b. May 7, 1888, m., 
Green Bay, Wis., one son, d. 

George Ebenezer, b. January, 1853, New York; wf., Alice, whereabouts 
unknown. One da., m., lives in Peoria. 

William Sumner Eaton, b. July, 1857, Ashland, Pa.; wf., Margaret 
Fitzpatrick; m. 1897; lived in Hamilton, 111.; removed to Decatur, 111.; 
wf. Margaret d. June 15, 1913. He was a railway engineer but is now 
retired. Children: Delia, b. May 26, 1898, Peoria, 111.; m.; Bertha, Ethel 
and Helen. 

(Note — Perry Eaton and Ellen and Ephraini Phillips, the latter later 
of New Castle and subsequently of Pottsville, Schuylkill Co., were amon;r 
the pupils of the first public school organized, 1835, in Northumberland 
County. — Old History of Northumberland County.) 

Matilda Merkle Zerbe, m. Samuel B. Graeff, March 6, 
1852 (White Church records, Orwigsburg, Pa.) Samuel 
Beard Graeff, son of Daniel Graeff and vVrasmy Beard, b. 
July 15, 1828, in Maiden Creek Township, Berks County, 
Pa.; died in Tamaqua, March 25, 1887. The family removed, 
1841, to Schuylkill Haven, where the father kept a leading- 
hotel, subsequently removing to Tamaqua, where his wife's 
brother, Michael Beard, conducted the Mansion House, ran 
stage lines and owned considerable property. 

(Note — Harman B. Graeff, d., of Tamaqua, attorney at law. was a 
brother of Samuel.) 

(Note — The Beards lived near Temple. Berks County, some of the 
family reside in Reading. They were prominent people and of Revolu- 
tionary stock.) 

Samuel Graeff learned the trade of machinist and work- 
ed in Pottsville at the old George W. Snyder machine shops, 
now the Reading Company's. His name occurs, 1847, on 
the roster of the American Hose Fire Company, as having 
been one of the charter members. He removed to Tamaqua 
after his marriage, where he worked at his trade, and served 



238 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

ill the Civil War as Captain of Co. D, 173d Regt. Penna. Vol. 
The children of Samuel and Matilda Graefif were : 

Ann Beard Graeff, b. December 13, 18.53; d. June 20, 1880; m. February 
27, 1872, Edmund Lloyd; c. of Edmund and Ann Lloyd: Matilda Zerbey 
and Edmund C. 

Matilda Zerbey Graeff, b. January 15, 1855; m. Lewis Beck, May 23, 
1878, who d. June 18, 1880. leaving one son. Berthold Graeff Beck. He 
graduated from Lehigh University, 1900, and married Georgie J. Emery, 
May 20, 1904. Issue, one son, John Emery Beck, b. January 23, 1906. She 
married John M. Herbig, April 10, 1889. Both he and her son are employed 
with good positions in the mechanical department and office of the Beth- 
lehem Iron Works, Bethlehem, Pa. 

Emmeline Graeff, b. August 31, 1856; d. January 19, 1860; raised by 
her grandmother, \vf. of George Zerbe, West Brunswick Township, near 
Orwigsburg, where she died of scarlet fever and is buried in the Lutheran 
cemetery, Orwigsburg. 

George Zerbey Graeff, b. February 10, 1858; m. Melinda Moss, Decem- 
ber 20, 1885; railroader, lives at Hazleton, Pa.; children: Samuel B., Sallie, 
Harriet, Laurine. 

REV. FRANK ELLSWORTH GRAEFF, D. D. 

Frank Ellsworth Graeff, b. December 19, i860, m. Mary 
Lourene Manger, da. of Rev. Henry Benner and Harriet 
Isabel Manger, March i, 1894. He was admitted into the 
Philadelphia Conference of the Methodist Episcopal church, 
1890, and received honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity, 
from Claflin University, 1911. He served the following ap- 
pointments : Bangor circuit, Somerton, Wesley, Bethany, Em- 
manuel, Summerfield, all of Philadelphia, and is now at Roy- 
ersford after serving two years at Haws Avenue, Norristovvn, 
Pa. Dr. F. E. Graefif is a prolific writer of Gospel hymns, of 
which more than two hundred have been published. One, 
"Does Jesus Care?" has been translated into a number of lan- 
guages and is sung all over the world. He has also written 
many short stories for children and is a contributor to leading 
magazines. His book, "The Minister's Twins," is very popu- 
lar. 

Sallie Beard Graeff, b. June 16, 1863, d. March 4, 1882. 

Arasmus Beard Graeff, b. August 29, 1867; d. February 14, 1901; m. 
Abram T. Oliver, of Tamaqua, December 12, 1888. Their c. were: Frank 
Graeff and Robert A. Oliver. 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 239 

Of the Zerbeys 

WILLIAM MERKLE ZERBEY 

William^ Merkle Zerbey. (George*, John^ George, 
George- Peter, Martin^), was born in the Panther Valley 
(Bender Thai), Schuylkill County. January 22, 1824; d. May 
30, 1891. The family removed to a farm, in West Brunswick 
Township, one and a quarter miles below Orwigsburg, when 
he was about ten years of age. His father was a Lutheran 
and his mother Reformed, and according to the strict di- 
vision of the two sects, in the early times, the boys of the 
family were confirmed in the Lutheran and the girls in the 
Reformed church, the old White church of Orwigsburg,^ 
then having alternate worship of both congregations. He 
attended a private school for three months in the winter, 
learning the English vocabulary and to write German script, 
at night, from one Prof. Getler-, an armless cripple, who kept 
a writing school and used the ferule freely with his feet upon 
the fingers of the unfortunate pupils while they attempted 
to form the letters. He learned to read English in the early 
Episcopal Sunday school, held for a few years in Orwigs- 
burg; his limited school experience being mostly confined to 
arithmetic and the "Rule of Three," the farmers being very 
exacting that their children should learn to count in order 
to transact business. He was, however, a well informed, 
self educated man, practical and thorough in all his business 
transactions and a close reader of the leading events of the 
day. At an early age he was employed by Benjamin Pott, 
brother of John and Abraham Pott, who kept the old Half- 
Way Elouse (Lessig's), between Schuylkill Haven and Or- 
wigsburg, where Mr. Pott housed and boarded a large force 



(Note 1 — St. John's Lutheran and Reformed Church, of Orwigsburg, 
known as the "White Church," was erected 1831.) 

(Note 2 — In 1872 when Barnum's circus visited Pottsville, Prof. Getler 
accompanied it. He wore a purple gold braided velvet waistcoat with 
wide white lawn ruffles at the neck and ankle, and sat upon a table 
where he gave exhibitions of his skill in writing with his feet. Some 
of his old Pottsville pupils called upon him but he gave them scant 
recognition.) 



240 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

of men who were engaged in felling timber for the Reading 
Railway, then being constructed, and others who worked on 
the Schuylkill Canal. 

A kick from a fractious young colt that he was attempt- 
ing to train and which left him lying unconscious for several 
hours and left a wide swath of white hair in his boyish black 
locks, made him conclude that farm life was not to his taste 
and he engaged in boating on the Schuylkill canal, subse- 
quently learning the carpenter trade, in Orwigsburg, com- 
ing to Pottsville in 1842. Here he engaged in the building 
and contracting business and could relate many interesting 
reminiscences of early days of coal mining when he, with the 
Lords, DeFrehns and other early builders erected the com- 
pany houses for the early coal operators, at Tuscarora, 
Kaska William, Wadesville and Flowery Fields, and who 
also were engaged on some of the leading buildings in Potts- 
ville. 

Mr. Zerbey engaged in the manufacture of Venetian 
blinds, then a paying business, 1852, opening a house-fur- 
nishing, window blind, carpet and stationery store on Mar- 
ket, between Second and Centre streets, removing to 203 N. 
Centre street, which property he purchased and remodeled, 
i868-'7i, the family residing there continuously for forty-six 
years and the business being carried on for sixty-two years. 
W. M. Zerbey died May 30, 1891. He was confirmed in the 
Lutheran church, but after his marriage united with the 
Evangelical church in which he was prominent as a trustee, 
assisting largely with his means to build the handsome church 
on West Arch Street. After the split in that body, he united 
with his family with the First IMethodist Episcopal church, of 
Pottsville, where he also served in an official capacity and 
was actively interested in the spiritual and financial welfare 
of the church. He was first a Democrat in politics, but in 1856 
voted for Stephen A. Douglas, and in the stirring days of 
i860 was an ardent supporter of Abraham Lincoln and there- 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 241 

Of the Zerbeys 

after voted the Republican ticket. He did not desire office 
of any kind, but was frequently approached to allow the 
use of his name in the local g-overnment of the town. During 
the Civil War he was the main support of a large family 
whose head was in the three years' service and who was 
killed, as ]\Tr. Zerbey frequently said, "while fighting for me 
at the front." He was one of a committee appointed to create 
a Patriotic Fund and distribute it to families whose support- 
ers were at the front, he having in charge the care of the fami- 
hes in the Middle Ward, Pottsvillc. He was a liberal giver 
to the church and to any cause he espoused. 

William M. Zerbey m. Sarah L. Schwalm, da. of Andrew 
and Hannah Miller Schwalm (Schwalm history), December 
21, 1847, ^t Orwigsburg. Sarah Schwalm, b. September 3, 
1830, d. August II, 1914. Their children were: William, d. ; 
John Franklin, Heber Swalm, Joseph Henry, Robert An- 
derson, Frederic E.. Ella A., wf. of C. D. Elliott, d. ; Adelia 
E., twice married ; Sara Frances, wf. of Walter B. Hill. 

John F. Zerbe3s clerk and subsequently cashier of the 
Government National Bank, of Pottsville ; clerk to the 
Schuylkill County Commissioners, and for nine years U. S. 
National Bank Examiner, now retired and living in York- 
ville, a section of Pottsville, married Laura E. Esterly, July 
23, 1883, da. of Daniel Esterly, deceased, of Pottsville, and a 
direct descendant of Jacob Esterly, who qualified at Phila- 
delphia September 20, 173S, from the ship Nancy, and of 
Daniel Esterly, his son (Rev. A\'ar record). They have one 
son, John F. Zerbey, Jr., b. June 3, 18S4, m. Florence, da. 
of Benjamin J. Smith, County Commissioner of Schuylkill ; 
children, Florence M. and Margaret. John F. Zerbey, Jr., 
electrician, in business P'ourth and Arch Streets, Pottsville. 

(Note — Jacob Easterly, 22, qualified at Philadelphia, September 20, 
17S8. He was a taxpayer in Berks County, 1754, died 1758; wf. Eliza- 
beth. Died intestate. Daniel2, the youngest of three children under 21. 
Married Susanna Heckler. Both buried one mile west of Oley Town- 
ship line, in private burying ground. Revolutionary War Record, Part 1. 



242 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

Daniel'!, eldest son of Daniel-, Sheriflf of Berks County, 1841-'44. George 
son of Daniel-, was the father of Daniel Esterly, of Pottsville. Daniel- 
Esterly, b. August 27, 1758, d. September 27, 1822.) 

Heber Swalm Zerbey, \vf. Haniuili, da. of Samuel and 
Elizabeth Mortimer, the former for many years borough 
treasurer of Pottsville, (see Mortimer), married April 28, 
1887. They had one daughter, ] Elizabeth, b. August 19, 1888, 
d. February 26, 1895. Heber Zerbey was by profession a 
school teacher, in which occupation he was successfully en- 
gaged in Pottsville, when he retired to carry on the business 
of his father, W. M. Zerbey, at 203 N. Centre St., Pottsville, 
and to which he succeeded on the death of his parents. 

FOUNDER OF THE POTTSVILLE DAILY 
REPUBLICAN 

Joseph Henry Zerbey, editor and proprietor of the 
"Pottsville Daily Republican,'' established October 28, 1884, 
(and owner of the Weekly "Schuylkill Republican" from 1879). 
has in the "Pottsville Republican" plant, one of the most 
progressive, successful bindery, newspaper and job printing 
houses in l£astern Pennsylvania, and is c^ne of the foremost 
and most enterprising citizens of his section of the State. He 
learned the art preservative in all its branches very thoroughly, 
and this early rudimentary insight into the fundamental rules 
of printing enabled him to take advantage of every improve- 
ment in the business as it advanced in newer inventions, all 
of which he has installed in his plant, and to which early 
knowledge he ascribes the keynote of his ultimate success. 

J. PL Zerbey married Cora E. Sigfried, June 16, 1880, 
daughter of General Joshua K. Sigfried, Colonel of the 48th 
Regt., Penna. Vols., and Brigadier General at the fall of Pe- 
tersburg, in the Civil War, and Major General in the National 
Guard of Pennsylvania for many years. Jonas Sigfried, father 
of Joshua K., was a son of Jonathan^ Sigfried, (Jacob-, Joseph^) 
born October 28, 1790, in Maxatawny Township, Berks Coun- 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 243 

Of the Zerbeys 

ty, d. June, 1853, near Rebersburg, Schuylkill County, and is 
buried at the Bethel Church. He owned a farm and kept 
a hotel across the Blue Mountains from Rebersburg. He 
married Barbara Fiegol, and their children, of whom they 
had fifteen, and their descendants are settled in Harrisburg, 
Annville and throughout lower Schuylkill County. 

(Note — Jacob Sigfried. — Revolutionary War Record, Part 1.) 
The children of J. H. Zerbey and wf. Cora E. are : Ida 
Frances, Avf. of Robert Braun, owner of the Braun School of 
]\Iusic, and a Piano Virtuoso; Edith, b. June 28, 1884, d. Au- 
gust 8,1886; Joseph Henry, Jr. ; Mildred and Cora Elizabeth, 
the latter being Pottsville High School pupils. 

J. H. Zerbey is a member of the Methodist Episcopal 
church and a Republican in politics. The family home is lo- 
cated corner of Howard Avenue and Fifteenth Street, Potts- 
ville. He is for years president of the Pottsville Board of 
Trade, also president of the Schuylkill County Centennial 
Ass'n., president of the Pottsville Mutual Fire Insurance Co., 
and member of the Penna. Society of New York, the Manu- 
facturers' and Pen and Pencil Clubs, of Phila., the Pottsville 
Motor, the Outdoor, and the Pottsville Clubs ; president of 
the State Editorial Association, and the acting presi- 
dent of the Penna. Associated Dailies, and member of the 
Penna. German Society. He was one of the leading con- 
tributors and building committee of the magnificent Potts- 
ville Methodist Church edifice at Market and Fourth Streets. 
Fie is president of the Penn Land Co.. a very extensive opera- 
tion to secure homes for the people ; also director in the 
Greater Pottsville B. & L. Association. He has been promi- 
nently identified with the movements that have done so much 
to improve Pottsville and enlarge the business of the com- 
munity. Fie especially labored zealously for the city form 
of government. He has a very wide acquaintanceship with 



244 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

prominent men of the nation, and has traveled extensively to 
learn how others live and do, so as to apply new ideas to his 
home locality. 

The "Republican" Iniildinj^ on Mahantongo St., erected 
in 1895, was the first modern iron, brick, stone, cement, fire- 
proof business structure in Pottsville. The equipment of 
the "Republican's" plant is very unusually extensive and 
uptodate for an inland city, and is equal to some prominent 
ofifices in large cities. The plant has dual motor power, 
steam and electric ; the newspapers are printed on a three 
deck stereotyping press, and this was one of the first offices 
in the world to use linotypes. 

Mr. Zerbey was the originator of the present extensive 
electric railway system in and around Pottsville. It was the 
sixth electric line to be started in the U. S.. and Mrs. Frances 
Zerbey Braun, in 1890, pulled the switch that put the current 
into the operation of the first electric street car in Pottsville. 

Mrs. Braun was the first woman to be admitted to the 
Schuylkill County Bar and to practise before the Supreme 
Court. She is also a talented violinist, and concertmeister 
of the Gerhard Symphony Orchestra. 

Joseph Henry Zerbey, Jr., assistant to his father in the 
"Daily Republican" office, and associate editor of that news- 
paper, wf. Catharine, daughter of John and Catharine Ban- 
nan. He is a graduate of Lafayette College, and is con- 
nected with the leading public and social movements. Also 
during the threatening European war days of 1915, he be- 
came associated with the First Of^cers Training Regiment 
of the United States Army, inaugurated by the Wnv Depart- 
ment at Plattsburgh, N. Y., as the foundation of the U. S. A. 
Citizen Soldier Reserves. He is also a member of the execu- 
tive committee of the National Editorial Association, a Ro- 
tariau and "Big Brother" to hundreds of boys and girls 
whose condition in life he is trying to improve. 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 245 

Of the Zerbeys 

Robert Anderson Zerbey, b. September 20, i860, d. De- 
cember 9, 1893, married April 29, 1886; \vf., Annie L. 
Kaercher, da. of Henry Kaercher ; children : William Henry 
and Margaret Adelia, Schenectady, N. Y. Robert A. Zerbey 
learned the printing trade in all its branches in the "Repub- 
lican'' office. He was employed in the freight department of 
the Reading Railway Company, at Philadelphia, for several 
years, and also in a large wholesale carpet establishment. 
Returning to Pottsville he assumed the duties of business 
manager of the "Daily Republican," which position he held 
at the time of his death, which occurred in the prime of 
manhood under particularly distressing circumstances, the 
disease being typhoid, cerebro spinal meningitis. 

William Henry Zerbey (Robert) employed in Schenec- 
tady, N. Y., in the General Electric Company power plant in 
that city as Cost Accountant in the main office ; Margaret 
resides in Schenectady with her mother. 

Frederic Edgar Zerbey began his career early on the 
surveying corps of the Lehigh Valley Coal Company at Lost 
Creek, under Col. D. P. Brown. He was promoted to the 
district superintendency of the company's collieries at 
Hazleton and subsequently to the district superintendency 
of the Lehigh Valley Coal Company's collieries at Wilkes- 
Barre. He is at present the efficient manager and superin- 
tendent of the Kingston Coal Company, with offices at 
Wilkes-Barre. He married Bertha, da. of Conrad Seltzer, 
of Pottsville, July 30, 1883. Their children are: Dorothy, 
Frederic Edgar, d., and Arthur, a student at Yale College. 
Their home is at the corner of Union and River Streets, 
Wilkes-Barre. Fred. E. Zerbey is a member of the Episcopal 
Church, a mason and a Republican in politics. 

Conrad Seltzer was b. September 17, 1818, in Marburg, Kurhessen, 
Germany. He came to America and located at Pottsville, Penna., 1835. 
He married Dorothea E. Roehrig, December 10, 1839. They had ten chil- 
dren living. They first settled in Fishbach, then removed to Minersville 



246 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

and thence to Bull's Head, and linally built the handsome home on North 
Centre Street, Pottsville, fronting the Seltzer Packing House, founded by 
Conrad Seltzer and now carried on by his sons, Albert and William 
Seltzer. 

FOUNDER OF THE WEEKLY SCHUYLKILL 
REPUBLICAN 

Ella A. Zerbey, m. Charles Doty Elliott, of Fond dti Lac, 
Wisconsin, January 20, 1870; born November 25, 1842, d. 
July 19, 1899, and the son of Hon. George W. and Julianna 
Crofoot Elliott. G. W. Elliott, born in Lewis County, New 
York, February 13, 1804, d. June 30, 1898. He was one of 
the pioneer settlers of Wisconsin, locating at Detroit, Mich- 
igan, 1834, and at Green Bay, Wisconsin, when they were 
but trading posts and military stations. He was a surveyor 
and located thousands of acres of land in those territories 
for eastern settlers and capitalists, and was private secretary 
to territorial Governor of Wisconsin, James D. Doty. The 
family lived in Taycheedah, near Fond du Lac, in the first 
frame house in Wisconsin, brought in parts, by packet boat, 
over the Great Lakes, from New York, for Governor Doty. 
The children of the two families, who resided in this house 
together, for several years were educated, in part, by a pri- 
vate tutor brought from New York for the purpose. Mr. 
Elliott located, with Governor Doty, the lands for the capitol 
at Madison, the grounds for the penitentiary at Waupun ; 
he filled many offices of trust in that state and was a member 
of the Legislature, 1861-4. 

Losing his mother at an early age, C. D. Elliott became 
a member of the family of Hon. Sam. W. Ryan, Appleton, 
Wis., (Editor of the "Appleton Crescent" and subsequently 
U. S. Minister to New Brunswick), and here learned the art of 
printing. When sixteen, with two other apprentices of the 
"Crescent" office, he went to Calumet County, where they 
published a small weekly newspaper, the official printing of 
that county being guaranteed them. When the war broke 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 247 

Of the Zerbeys 

out they closed their office and were among the first to arrive 
in Madison and enlist in the Civil War. C. D. Elliott was a 
member of Co. E, 6th Wisconsin Regiment, and participated 
in 67 engagements with the enemy, and in the vigorous war- 
fare engaged in by the famous Iron Brigade, under General 
Edward Bragg, the first captain of Co. E, (afterward Minis- 
ter to Mexico and who placed Grover Cleveland in nomina- 
tion for tile Presidency, the first time, at Chicago, when 
Bragg was U. S. Senator, in the words since made famous, 
"I love Cleveland for the enemies he has made.") He was 
wounded twice and was sent to Washington with a severe 
attack of typhoid fever brought on by lying in the trenches 
(in mud and water) when wounded. He was made Color 
Sergeant of Co. E, but was remanded to Co. A, 14th Regt. 
V. R. C, in which he served the remainder of his time, in 
the redoubts at Washington, D. C, and in enforcing the draft 
in Pennsylvania. He served three years and three months 
and of his family was one of four sons, two of whom lost 
their lives in the service ; and three brothers-in-law, all of 
the family, except the aged father, being engaged in the war 
for the Union. 

At the close of the war, C. D. Elliott settled in Reading, 
Pa., where he with three other practical printers, established 
tlie Reading "Daily Record" under the firm name of Mast, 
Schultz, Buckwalter and Elliott. The "Record" was short- 
lived and was succeeded by the "Evening Dispatch," pub- 
lished by Buckwalter, Elliott and Schultz. James D. Laciar, 
subsequently of the Wilkes-Barre "Record" and later post- 
master of that cit}', was for a time included in the firm. The 
"Dispatch" ran for about two and a half years when it was 
merged with the "Times" and he retired. Mr. Elliott came to 
Pottsville, Pa., 1870, where he acted as city editor of the Daily 
"Miners' Journal," Bannan and Ramsey, proprietors. Decem- 
ber 14, 1872, he founded the "Schuylkill Weekly Republican," 
at Minersville, taking in as a working partner, John O. Beck, 



248 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

the latter retiring after two years. Mr. Elliott assumed the 
work of the growing plant until 1879, when he sold the busi- 
ness to his brother-in-law, Joseph Henry Zerbey, who was 
already engaged in the ofifice and identified with the "Repub- 
lican." Mr. Elliott purchased a half interest in the "Fond 
du Lac Commonwealth," established 1832, and removed to 
that city, Wisconsin, where he remained three years, return- 
ing to Pottsville, 1882. Later, with Burd Patterson and oth- 
ers he started "The Independent Republican," a weekly that 
had a brief career. October 28, 1884, J. H. Zerbey originated 
and started the "Pottsville Daily Republican," and about a 
year thereafter C. D. Elliott was engaged as associate editor 
with editor J. H. Zerbey in the latter's new enterprise. After 
his death, 1899, his wife, Ella Zerbey Elliott, the author of 
this work, occupied the position of assistant to the editor and 
proprietor of the "Republican" for six years, when she retired. 
Mrs. Elliott has done acceptable work as correspondent to a 
leading metropolitan newspaper in which her articles on the 
mining of coal and the industries connected with it, received 
favorable notice and comment from the leading authorities 
on the subject. Her short stories and other articles, too, 
find a ready acceptance with the syndicates and other me- 
diums of light and practical literature. Her book, "Old 
Schuylkill Tales," had a larger sale than any other local book 
published in Schuylkill County and she is frequently being 
urged to revise the same and bring out another edition. 

THE ELLIOTT LINE OF DESCENT 

1540—1899 

Henry Elliott, b. ; d. ; m. Alice ; b. ; d. ; buried 

December 15, 1590; c, Henry, William; residence, East Coker, Somerset- 
shire, England. 

William Elliott, b. ; bap. June 23, 1527; d. March 29, 1642; m. ; 

b. ; d. ; c, Margaret, John, William, Henry; residence, East Coker, 

England. 

William Elliott, b. ; bap. February, 1C03; d. ; m. Emma— — ; 

b. ; d.— — ; c, Edith, Judith, Marie, Andrew, John, Grace (1), Grace (2). 

Kesidence, East Coker, England. 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 249 

Of the Zerbeys 

Andrew Elliott, b. ; bap. April 24, 1627; d. (will) 1704; m. Grace 

Woodier, (2) Mary ; b. ; (2) b. ; d. February 9, 1652, (2) d. 

(will) 1720; c, (1) Andrew, Emma, (2) Mary, William; residence. East 
Coker, England; Salem, Beverly, Massachusetts. (Was one of the twelve 
jurymen who heard the witchcraft trials at Salem, 1692.) 

William Elliott, b. ; bap. 1655; d. (will) January, 1721-2; m. Mary 

Parker, widow, nee Browne; b. April 15, 1657; d. ; c, Andrew (1), 

Andrew (2), William, John, Judith, Mary, Emma, Elizabeth; residence, 
Beverly, Massachusetts. 

John Elliott, b. September 10, 1693; d. April 8, 1751; m. April 20, 1715, 
Elizabeth Balch, b. 1696; d. May 1, 1718; m. April 20, 1720, Hannah Wal- 
dron, b. ; d. ; c. (1) Skipper, John; (2) Nathaniel, William, Fran- 
cis, Elizabeth, Abigail, Hannah; residence, Beverly, Mass. 

Nathaniel Elliot, b. March 26, 1721; d. ; m. Abigail Edwards, b. ; 

d. — — ; (2) Elizabeth ; b.- ; d. ; c, Nathaniel, John, Francis. 

residence, Beverly, Mass.; Woodstock, Conn.; Northampton, Chester, Mass. 
(Served in French-Indian Colonial Wars.) 

John Elliott, b. ; d. between 1832 and 1841; m. Rebecca Parker; 

b. ; d. after 1841; c, Chester, David, George Washington, Zylphia and 

perhaps others; residence, Chester, Easthampton, Mass., Bowman's Creek, 
N. Y., Cayuga County, Ohio, and perhaps other places. (John Elliott 
served in the Revolutionary War from Massachusetts; was a pensioner as 
was his wife after his death.) 

Chester Elliott, b. about 1776; d. after 1832; m. July 6, 1797, Betsey 
Benjamin, da. of Jesse Benjamin, who served in the Revolutionary War; 
b. March 31, 1784; d. November, 1848; c, Susan, Joseph, George Washing- 
ton, Pamelia, Electa, Jesse, Elizabeth, Marietta, Jane, Thomas; residence, 
Easthampton, Mass., Martinsburg, N. Y. (Served in Capt. Adam Conkey's 
Company, 101st N. Y., War of 1812-15.) 

George Washington Elliott, b. February 13, 1804; d. July 1, 1897; 
m. October 11, 1832, Juliana Crofoot, b. April 8, 1810, d. June 26, 1850; 
(2) Lottie M. Torrey; (1) Mary Elizabeth, David, Frances E., Charles Doty, 
Parke Benjamin, Irving Washington, Ella Louise, (2) Caroline. ~~-^-^ 



Adelia E. Zerbey, first husband, Frank A. Harper, b. at 
Bear Gap, Dauphin County, September 12, 1849; d. January 
12, 1890. He was the eldest son of John C. Harper and wf. 
Margaret, an individual coal operator and superintendent of 
mines, of Ashland, Pa., and who later was identified with his 
son, the above, with the Wm. Milnes coal operations, as clerk 
and timekeeper. Frank Harper was timekeeper at the Read- 
ing Co. Coal and Iron shops at the time of his death, to which 
position he was succeeded by Edward L. Keane, of Garfield 
Square. The children of Frank and Adelia Harper, who 



250 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

were married May 8, 1884, were: an infant, deceased, and Sara 
Adelia Harper, who resides with her mother at Reading. 
Adelia E. Harper m. Horace Silliman Kirk, July 30, 1896. 
He was the son of Wister A. and Lydia A. Kirk. His father 
was a coach builder with a shop where the Penna. R. R. depot, 
Pottsville, now stands. They live in Reading, Pa. 

Sara Frances Zerbey, married Walter B. Hill, of New 
York, December 11, 1903. Their children are: George Samp- 
son, Emma Louise and Walter B., Jr. Mr. Hill, piano expert, 
is engaged in the musical instrument business at 205 N. Centre 
Street, (Zerbey building), where the family reside. Mr. Hill 
enjoyed the advantages of a good musical education under the 
best instructors in New York City, and having exceptional 
talent was intended for the musical profession. He preferred 
the musical business, however, which line he is successfully 
following. He served several years in the manufacture of 
instruments to perfect himself in their construction which 
knowledge is invaluable to him in his business. 

RIETHS OR REEDS 

Leonard^ Rieth, of the Tulpehocken, w^as one of three 
brothers, original settlers from the Schoharie, N. Y. He was 
the man about whom the "Tulpehocken Confusion," at Zi- 
on's or Rieth's church (Stouchsburg, Berks County), cen- 
tered. (Map of Pioneer Homesteads, Part L Transactions 
of the Moravians.) 

Leonard Rieth, b. 1691, d. 1747, wf. Anna Eliza Caterina ; 

c, Johan Nicholas, b. 1716, d 1788; Johan George, b. 1717, 

d. 1791 ; Johannes Friderich, b. 1718, d. 1794; Leonard, b. 

1723, d. 1803; Peter, , Maria Margaretha. Peter Rieth 

had a son, Leonard, b. 1772, who was confirmed at Zion's 
Lutheran church, 1788. Hermanns Zerbe married Maria 
Rieth, 1799. Anna Maria, da. of Sarnuel and Christina Rieth, 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 251 

Of the Zerbej^s 

bap. October 9, 1782. Sponsors, Michael Rieth and Anna 
Maria Schwarzen. Samuel, son of Caspar Rieth. Solomon, 
son of Jacob Rieth. (Zion's church records.) 

Leonard^ Rieth died from injuries received in his mill, 
on the Tulpehocken creek, next to the site of the old church, 
where he was caught in the cog wheel. His death was 
attributed, by his enemies, to a direct visitation of Provi- 
dence. He, however, had forsaken the Moravians before his 
death and was buried from Zion's Lutheran church (Stouchs- 
burg) and interred in that cemetery. It is related of his 
wife, that, when the church was locked, she crept in from an 
opening in the rear and opened a window admitting the 
opposing faction and that when the matter was to be arbi- 
trated, she stood up in the church and bitterly denounced its 
opponents (the Orthodox Lutherans), when the so-called 
"Tulpehocken Confusion" ensued. (Part I, Tulpehocken Con- 
fusion.) 

Johan^ George Rieth, (Leonard^), b. 1717, d. 1791 ; son, 
Leonard'^, b. in the Tulpehocken, April 10, 1739; d. in Pine- 
grove Township, Berks County, August 26, 1805. Rev. 
John Caspar Stoever's Records give the baptisms of three 
children, of George Riedt, of "Summer Mountain," Berks 
County. It is probable that George Rieth came from the 
Tulpehocken about 1748 and that he already had several chil- 
dren before he came to Pinegrove Township. He is not 
mentioned on the tax lists and may have only been a so- 
journer and the title to the Rieth tract may have been vested 
in his sons, Leonard and Johannes. The baptisms were : 
August 20, 1749, Eva Margaretha, da. of George Riedt; No- 
vember 20, 1 75 1, Christina Barbara and on September 22, 
1754. John Jacob, (Stoever's records). Johannes, b. Octo- 
ber 15, 1755, d. December 26, 1827, (Jacob's church records). 
There was also a church called the "Summer Mountain," 
south of the Blue Mountains, Berks County. These were 



253 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

the children of Johan- George Rieth (Leonard^), born in the 
Schoharie Valley, New York, and reared in the Tiilpehocken. 

Leonard" Rieth, married Anna Maria Zerbe, (George^ 
Peter, MartinM, b. April 2$, 1748; d. May 24, 1827. They 
were married at Reading, December 20, 1768, (Trinity Luth- 
eran church records.) 

After Leonard Rieth's marriage to Anna Maria Zerbe, 
1768, he took up a tract of land in Pinegrove Township, 
Berks County, where his lirother, Johannes also settled. 
This land is located around and on the present site of Reeds- 
ville, Wayne Township, Schuylkill County, and on these two 
tracts, since divided and subdivided, live numerous Reeds, 
all descendants of John and Leonard Rieth, who have been 
in possession of these same fertile tracts for almost two hun- 
dred years and many of their scions have removed to the 
West. The village has a German Baptist (Dunkard's), and 
a flourishing Evangelical church, the latter being the de- 
nomination most of the Reeds are affiliated with. The early 
Rieths were Lutherans and their nearest church, St. Jacob's, 
two miles west of Pinegrove, near Exmoor and almost ten 
miles from their settlement. There were at that time but 
two churches north of the Blue Mountain : Zion's or Red 
church, and St. Jacob's. The latter and Frieden's church, 
on the "Little Schuylkill," between McKeansburg and New 
Ringgold, organized 1798, both, according to tradition, had 
small log buildings on the sites where the log churches were 
afterward built and the congregations organized. 

St. Jacob's church was built of logs on a tract of 27 
acres of land obtained from the State. Unfortunately, as 
with all of the churches with which Rev. Wm. Kurtz was 
connected who organized the church 1780, and the early pas- 
tors who followed, the records for the first nineteen years 
are missing. Andrew Schulze, of the Tulpehocken, was its 
pastor for two years, lie was afterward Governor of Penna. 
This church is known as the White Church. 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 253 

Of the Zerbeys 

John and Leonard Rieth are among- the first sixty-two 
taxablcs returned, from Pinegrove Township, Berks County, 
and they were among its first members. 

The first communion, recorded 1799, gives Leonard 
Rieth and wife. Johannes Rietli, Catharine Rieth and Eliza- 
beth Rieth as communicants. 

The children of Leonard Rieth and \vf. Anna Maria 
Zerbe, were : 

Eva, b. August 7, 1771. Conrad Muench (Minnich) and wife, Elizabeth 
Zerbe, spon.sors. John Heinrich, b. July 12, 1773, 7 weeks old, the parents 
sponsors; Maria Eva, b. September 30, 1775 (the first child of this name 
probably died and another was given the same name.) Red Church records 
(IVs miles below Orwigsburg); John or Jonas, b. 1777, wf. Elizabeth; 
Leonard, b. March, 1783, d. December 26, 1851, wf. Margaretha Brennern; 
Anna Maria, b. 1779, wf. of Daniel Zerbe; Catherina, b. 1781, wf. of Jacob 
Brennern. (.Jacob's Church records.) 

(Xote — The grandparents usually stood sponsors for the first child in 
baptism. The custom being invariable the relationship of the parties is 
thus determined if there are no other means at hand. December 25, 1808, 
Anna Maria Rieth stood sponsor for Sophia, da. of Jonas and Elizabeth 
Ried, of which child she was the grandmother. — Jacob's Church records.) 
Confirmed: — 

October 9, 1803, Adam Ried, 17. 
March, 1810, John George Ried. 
March, 1810, Maria Rieden, born Henen, 18. 
April 26, 1812, Saloma Ried, 16. 
April 26, 1812, Catherina Ried, 14. 
June 2, 1816, Maria Rieth. 
Communicants: — June 2, 1816, John Rieth and wf. Elizabeth Rieth. 
Baptisms:— 
1799 — August 18, Maria Catherina, da.; parents, Daniel and Anna Maria 

Zerbe; sponsors, Lenhard Ried and wf. Anna Maria. 
1800 — October 4, Solomon; parents, Jacob Brenner and wf. Catherina; 

sponsors, Leonhard Ried and wf. Anna Maria. 
1802 — Henrich, b. July 23; parents, Johannes Ried and wf. Catherine; 

sponsors, Henrich Stein and Christina Ried. 
1803— Elizabeth, b. January 15, 1802; bap. May 19; parents, Peter Ried 

and wf. Susanna. 
1803 — September 4, Eva Margaretha; parents, Phillip Ried and wf. 

Catherina. 
1804 — January 22, Catherine; parents, Johannes Ried and wf. Cathe- 
rina; sponsors, Johannes Ried and wf. Margaretha. 
1805 — September 27, Catherina; parents, Johan Rieth and wf. Catha- 
rine; sponsor, Anna Maria Riethen. (Leonhard Rieth, her hus- 
band, died August 26, 1805.) 
1806 — January 1, Johannes; parents, Johannes Ried and wf. Catherina. 



254 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 



1807 — January 25, Johann; parents, Johann Jacob Brenner and wf. 

Catherina; sponsors, Leonard Ried and Margaretha Brenner. 

March 27, Heinrich; parents, Jonas Ried and wf. Elizabeth. 

March 27, Catherina; parents, Jonas Ried and wf. Elizabeth; 
(twins). 
1808 — April 17, Johan Peter; parents, Johan Ried and wf. Catherine. 

September 4, Peter; parents, Johan Ried and wf. Elizabeth. 

December 25, Sophia; parents, Jonas Ried and wf. Elizabeth; 

sponsor, Anna Maria Riethen. 
1809— March 5, Johann; parents, Adam Ried and wf. Catharina; 

sponsors, Johan Ried and wf. Margaretha. 

March 5, Salome; parents, Leonard Reed and wf. Margaretha; 

sponsors, Johann Brenner and wf. 
(Burial Records not already given): — 
Johannes Rieth, b. October 15, 1755; d. December 26. 1827. 
Peter Rieth, b. October 10, 1788; d. January 2, 1848. 

John Ried (Jonas) and Anna Maria, widow, were made 
the administrators of Leonard Rieth, September i — October 9, 
1805. The inventory was 213 lbs., 16 s., 9 d. (Register of Wills, 
Orphans' Conrt B., Berks County.) 

Johannes^ Rieth (Johan- George, Leonard^), b. October 
^5' ^755) "^'ss a brother of Leonard^ Rieth. The spelling of 
the name Reed has no bearing on the issue. The German spel- 
ling Rieth has been changed by the dififerent branches to 
Reed, Ried and Read, but they are all from the same vocabu- 
lary. The Reeds of Pinegrove Township, which now includes 
Wayne and Washington, are descended from Leonhard and 
Johannes Rieth, brothers, who came from the Tulpehocken 
and the part now included in Marion Township, where the 
original Rieths settled, 1723, coming from the Schoharie Val- 
ley, New York, to Berks County, then Chester, where they 
have an important and voluminous history among the early 
settlers. 

LEONARD RIETH'S WAR RECORD 

Among the list of ofificers from Berks County, in the 
Revolutionary War, occurs the name of Leonard Rieth (m. to 
Anna Maria Zerbe), Wagon Master January 8, 1778. — Penna. 
Archives, 2d Series, Vol. 3, p. 23. Part i, Rieth's Record, in 
Revolutionary war. 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 255 

Of the Zerbeys 

John^ Reed, (Jonas^ or Johan, LeonarcF, (ieorge^, Leon- 
ard^), m. Maria Fischer. Their children were: 

John3 m. Margaret Guth, da. of Attorney Good, of Harrisburg; Wil- 
liam, m. Susanna Berkheiser; John, David, Daniel, Peter, d.; Maria, wf.— 
Marlin; Rachel, wf. of Henry Manbeck; Mrs. Kate Lesher, Mrs. Leah 
Merkle. These families went to Illinois, settling there. Peter and John 
remained. 

John3 Reed, m. Margaret Guth; c, Wesley, m. Kllen V. Berger; c: 
Mary, Sophronia, Irvin D., John, Clinton, Carrie, Robert, 2 da., 1 son, dec. 

William4 Reed, (John'5, John2 George, Leonardl), wf. Susanna Berk- 
heiser; c, Ludwig, Solomon, Jonathan, Daniel, William, John. 

Levi<3 Reed (LudwigS, m. Susanna Staehle), m. Jane Reber; c., Charles 
D.; Alice, m. Daniel Reber. 

Irwin D. Reed, school teacher, Reedsville; m. Abbie Fidler; c, John, 
Clinton, Pottsvillc; Robert; Sallie Laubenstein, Panther Valley; Ida We- 
ber, Reedsville. 

Sophronia, wf. Monroe L. Miller (Wesley), Adamsdale; two da. 

Petex'4 Reed (John3, John2 George. Leonardl); c., Henry, Elias, Eman- 
uel, George, Peter, Rebecca, m. W^m. Krecker; Sarah, m. Franklin Berk- 
heiser; Mrs. Reuben Berger, d., Frackville. 

Solomon Reed sons, Jerome and Alexander. 

Peter Rieth, b. October lo, 1788, d. January. 1848 (Ja- 
cob's Church records) ; buried in Jacob's cemetery. He had 
a son, Christian. Mrs. J. W. Hoover, of Bedford, Ind., is a 
granddaughter of Christian Reed. Peter Rieth lived in that 
vicinity, he married a daughter of Johannes Braun, who lived 
in Blue Mountain Hollow, and baptized many children in that 
church. Peter Rieth was no doubt a son of Peter Rieth and 
wf. Susanna, who baptized a da., Elizabeth, b. January 15, 
1803. The first Peter was born about 1767. George Reed 
lives at Cressona. 

Leonard Rieth and wf. Anna Maria Zerbe, and Johannes 
Reed and wf. Catharine, are buried in St. Jacob's cemetery. 
Their graves have not yet been identified, being doubtless 
some of the many unmarked, of sandstone or common field 
stone headstones. (Jacob's Church records.) 

Squire Irwin D. Reed, school teacher, relates that deer 
and other game were very plentiful in that valley. He remem- 
bers well his father telling this story : When butchering time 



256 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

came, John Reber, son of Daniel, came from the Summit to 
their farm to do the butchering ; when he had the hogs killed 
Reber said to John Reed, his father, "now, John, it is time to 
go up on the hill and shoot a deer for the sausage," and John 
went and shot one and brought it down by the time the hog 
was scraped, and sausage making then began. 

John Phillip Reed, b. 1698, d. 1783; M'f. Veronica , 

b. 1702, d. 1792. 

John^ Phillip Rieth was a brother of Leonard Rieth, b. 
1691, d. 1747. 

MichaeP Reed, (Johni Phillip), b. 172S, d. 1806; wf. Ann 
Maria, da. of Frederic Maurer. 

Johns Phillip Reed, (Michael^ John^ Phillip), b. 1764, 
d. 1836; wf. Elizabeth, da. of John and Susanna Horner. 

Michael-i Reed, (John*- Phillip, MichaeP, John^ Phillip), 
b. 1788, d. 1872; wf. Elizabeth B. Schell, b. 1794, d. 1854. 

Maria'' Catharine Reed (see Minnichs.) 

Michael^ Schell, b. 1675, d. 1770; wf. Veronica, b. 1766. 

John- Schell, b. 1729, d. 1782; wf. Veronica Maurer, da. 
of Jacob and Sophia Maurer, b. 1761. 

John^ Schell, b. 1754, d. 1825 ; wf. Elizabeth B. Hillegas, 
b. 1763, d. 1842; da. of .John Frederick and Elizabeth Hil- 
legas, b. 1685, d. 1765. 

George- Peter Hillegas, b. 1735, d. 1810; wf. Anna Bar- 
bara Hornecker, b. 1737, d. 1810. 

The Hillegas family of Tamaqua are descendants. 

Rev. John Schell, of Allentown, an early pastor of the 
Evangelical church, of Pottsville, was a descendant of Michael 
Schell. (Penna. German, May, July, 1901.) 

Michael Hillegas was the first Treasurer of the U. S. His 
portrait is on the ten dollar gold certificates of the U. S. 
Treasury. 

John^ Phillip Rieth, "of the Tulpehocken," was a taxable 
in Pinegrove Township, 1771. 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 257 

Of the Zerbeys 

FIRST AND SECOND GENERATION SHIP LISTS 
Immigrants Into Pennsylvania 

Ship William and Sarah Hill, from Rotterdam, Philadelphia, Septem- 
ber 18, 1727:— John Tob Serveas, Ulrich Sieere. 

Ship Elizabeth, from Rotterdam, August 27, 1733:— Jacob Serber, Jr., 
Jacob Serber, Sr. Another list, same ship: Jacob Sorver, age 56; Barbara 
Sorver, 23; Fronegh Sorver, 54; Rodelph Sorver, 21; Jacob Sorver, 26. 

Ship Glasgow, from Rotterdam, September 9, 1738: — Gottfried Zerfass. 
Another list, same ship: Godfriet Serwaes. 

Ship Samuel, from Rotterdam, August 27, 1739: — Johan Phillip Serfass, 
Another list: Phillipus Serfas. 

Ship Robert and Alice, from Rotterdam, December 3, 1740; — Johan 
Nicholas Zerfass. 

Others who came and must be reckoned in the second generation, 
all of whom were over 21 years of age on their arrival, were: Hans Surber, 
October 2, 1741; Henry Cerber, 1742; Caspar Surber, 1737; John Jacob 
Zervin, 1742; (2)Hans Surber, 1749; Hans Martin Surfas, 1750; Jacob 
Surber, 1752; Johannes Surber, 1752; Wentzel Serb, 1769. 

While some of these adopted the "Zerbe" in the spelling of their 
names, no connection can be traced to them. The Surbers, doubtless, 
were Swedes and are the heads of the families known as Sorbers, who 
are numerous in Pennsylvania and in the United States. 

Henry Surber (Zerbe in census of 1790), took out a v/arrant for land 
in Lancaster County, August 9, 1738. (Deed Book, Recorder's office, for 
250 acres, not returned.) 

Phillip Sowber, October 20, 1738, supposed to be the head of the Sour- 
bier or Sorbier branch of Sorbers. 

Gottfried Zerben is named as a taxable in Heidelberg Township, 1787. 

Gottfried Zerfass, ship lists, ship Glasgow from Rotterdam; another 
list, same ship, as Godfried Serwaes, September 9, 1738. He is named as 
Godfrey Zerbe in the census of 1790, Berks County, and no other Godfrey 
being on record, is doubtless the same man, or his son. March 3, 1789, 
Gotfried Zerbe m. Appelona Michael (Christ Church.) 

Ship Edinburg, from Rotterdam, September 15, 1749: — Freidcrich 
Zerfass. 

Ship Patience, from Rotterdam, Captain Hugh Steel, September 17, 
1753, last at Cowes, qualified at Philadelphia: — Jean Jacques Servier, af- 
terward known as Jacob Zerbe, aged 29 years. 

Ulrich Zurger, ship St. Andrew, from Rotterdam, September 23, 1752. 

Ship Peggy, from Rotterdam, September 24, 1753: — Jacob Zerbinger, 
age 16. 

Ship London Pacquet, from Lisbon, September 29, 1769: — Wentzel 
Serb. 

Brig Dolphin, from London, August 29, 1770: — Jean Serieux. 

Ship Snow Rose, from Lisbon, September 10, 1770:— Gille Sarier. 

Ship Crawford, from Rotterdam, October 16, 1772: — Henrich Zercher. 

Some of the above, notably the Serfass', retained the shipmaster's 
spelling, but the majority spelled their names afterward Zerbe. 



258 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

SHIP LISTS— PENNA. ARCHIVES 

Among the names of foreigners who took the oath of allegiance to 
the Province and State of Pennsylvania, 1727 — 1775, occur the following: 

1733, August 27 — Jacob Server, Sr., and Jacob, Jr., and Rudolph, Ship 
Elizabeth, from Rotterdam. 

1749, September 15 — Frederick Zerfass, Portsmouth, England, from 
Rotterdam. 

1738, September 9— Daniel Staudt, Peter Staudt, Ship Glasgow. 

1738, September 9 — Godfried Serwaes, Ship Glasgow, from Rotterdam. 

1740, December 3 — Johan Nicholas Zerfass, Captain Hugh Percy. 

1769, September 29— Joh. Tob Serveas and Wentzel Serb, Ship Eliza- 
beth, London Packet from Lisbon. 

1775, October 3 — Theils Zerfass, Ship King of Prussia, from Rotterdam. 

Some of the above were Swedes, whose descendants have since vari- 
ously modernized the spelling of their names. 

ZERFASS, SECOND GENERATION 

Johan Phillipus Serfass (Sevier, Sarva), Ship "Samuel," 
from Rotterdam, August 27, 1739, landed at Philadelphia, 
where he settled. His name appears on the list of members 
of the Moravian Church, 1727-1754, (Reichel, Vol. 31, p. 97. 
Transactions of the Moravians), he having been a prominent 
communicant and helping to build the church, 1742. He re- 
moved from Philadelphia to Head's Creek, Upper Northamp- 
ton, 1754, where he died on his farm in Chestnut Hill Town- 
ship. There are many descendants of this man in that 
county. 

William, son of Phillip and Mary C. Servas, was a pupil 
in the "Kinder Gemeine" of the Moravian boarding school for 
boys, 1747, in Frederick Township. This school was dissolved 
September 3, 1750, and the pupils transferred to the Moravian 
schools in Oley Township and at Bethlehem, (pp. 123-127.) 

The ground upon which Fort Norris, Northampton Coun- 
ty, stood and that of Fort Franklin, then in the same county, 
now in Schuylkill, was owned by John Serfas ; he was the 
grandfather of Nathan and T. H. Serfas. — (Indian Forts, 
Vol. I.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 259 

Of the Zerbeys 

John Nicholas Zerfass, Ship Robert and Alice, from Rot- 
terdam, December 3, 1740. Settled in Lancaster Comity. He 
took up a tract of land, November 13, 1747, returned, April 25, 
1788, and another from Peter Klopp and wf., November 10, 
1752. (Deed Book, Recorder's office, Lancaster County court 
house, C, Vol. 10, pp. 60, 446.) 

In the Abstract of wills of Lancaster County, 1721-1820, 
Pennsylvania Historical Society, Philadelphia, Nicholas Zer- 
fass died October i, 1784; his heirs were: Wife Elizabeth, c, 
Abraham, Daniel, Samuel and Catharine. Among the Wills 
of this name, Lancaster County court house, occurs that of 
Samuel Zerfass, February 28, 1773, and many others of this 
name of a later date. Some of these records show that some 
of this line, later, spelled their name "Zerbe." 

UNCLASSIFIED ZERBES 

Zerbe — Jacob, (Samuel), Middleville, Michigan. 

Zerbe — Samuel, brother of above Jacob, d. 

Zerbe — Abraham D., (SamueU), Bradford, Ohio. 

Zerbe — John, Washington, Illinois, removed to Three Rivers, Michigan. 
Sons of John; Lewis, Elias and Jacob, d., whose widow lives in Mifflin 
County, Penna. 

Zerbe — L. L., Concord, Morgan County, Illinois. 

Zerbe — Daniel, b. in North Heidelberg Township, wf. Catharine Eagle; 
c, Reuben, William E., Elvina, wf. of John Settler; lives in Kansas. 

Zerbe — William E., wf. Sarah Kauffman, had nine children, one of 
whom, Henry E., m. Hetty D. Groff, florist, Manchester, York County, 
Penna. Five children deceased. 

Zerbe — Henry T., Harrison, Nebraska; Miss Lena Zerbe, same, came 
west from Landisville, Penna. 

Zerbee — Joseph, Ashville, Cambria County, Penna. His daughter mar- 
ried F. D. McNeills, Gallitzin, Penna. Joseph Zerbee is of the original 

Zerbe stock and came from Lebanon County. He married Maguire, 

of a Revolutionary War ancestor. The daughter, Mrs. McNeills, belongs 
to the D. A. R. 

1873, May 23— Zerbe, Kate, da. of John Zerbe; wife — Hiester, of 
Upper Tulpehocken; m. Ephraim Henne. They had nine children, three 
deceased. 

There is a tradition that eight brothers came to America 
from Belgium, locating near Jamestown, Virginia. They 
spelled the name Surber and Sarvar. It is believed that they 
were not brothers, but descendants of the eight brothers. 



26o BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

Sevier-Sarva, from Alsace, some of whom took refuge in Bel- 
gium during the Huguenot persecutions. They colonized 
near the border between Virginia and North Carolina, founde<i 
a county and named it Wittenberg County, Virginia. 

Surber, Surbey, Sarvar, Canton, Ohio. These names are corruptions of 
the original Sevier, Sarvas. 

Surber, A. C, Muncie Indiana, gives the following data: 

Surber, Henry, moved from Roanoke, Virginia, to Hillsboro, Highland 
County, Ohio; son, Henry Surber; son, John P., same address. 

Surber, John — Sons, Lewis A., Hillsboro; Dr. A. C. Surber, Muncie, 
Indiana. 

Surber, Rev. Lee, President of the Southern "Christian" College, Nash- 
ville, Tennessee, and Minister Plenipotentiary, to Australia during the 
Cleveland administration, says: "The Surbers were Huguenots and lived 
in Alsace, France, during the Huguenot persecutions." Mr. Surber now 
resides in Boise, Idaho, 

Zerbe — David, b. in Berks County, 1795. Brothers, Peter, who removed 
to Portage County, Ohio; Daniel and sister, Susan, of Reading, John and 
Benneville, d., sons. 

Zerbe— Daniel W. (David), b. September 3, 1832, wf. Ellen R. Three 
daughters, Rebecca Homan, Harriet Darby and Mary Hinkle, d., Wil- 
liamsport. Pa. 

Zerbe — R. H., (Daniel W., David), manager of Lauderbach, Barber 
Company, wholesale grocers, Phillipsburg, Pa. This branch spells the 
name "Zerby." 

Zerbe — David K., Harry, McClellan and Caroline, of Williamsport. 
Two being employed on "The Sun" newspaper. 

Zerbe — Mrs. Hannah, Jersey Shore, Lycoming County, Pa. 

Zerbe — J. G., Professor in High School, Clearfield, Pa. 

Zerbe — J. Edward, Lock Haven, Pa. 

(Note — The above were written to regarding their line, but no reply 
was received.) 

OATH OF ALLEGIANCE TO BRITISH CROWN 

The early immigrants were required to take the oath of 
allegiance to the crown of Great Britain and the Province of 
Pennsylvania, from the year 1727 to 1775. The originals in 
the possession of the Commonwealth having been badly mu- 
tilated by those in search of fortunes, the State reprinted them 
and they may be found, Vol. XVII, Penna. Archives. All 
males over sixteen years of age were required to take this 
oath as soon after their arrival as possible. 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 261 

Of the Zerbeys 

OATH OF ALLEGIANCE TO STATE 

By an Act of General Assembly of Pennsylvania, June 13, 
1777, all men above the age of 18 years, were directed to take 
an oath of allegiance and fidelity to the State of Pennsylvania. 
The United States was not at that time a regularly constituted 
government. This was known as the "Test Oath" and showed 
that the signer would uphold the new form of government. 
In several counties there was much opposition to the 
oath, through fear, largely, that the Revolutionary movement 
might fail and some were, of course, still loyal to the King of 
England. The plain sects, Quakers, etc., refused to make oath 
though some athrmed. Berks County was loyal to the State 
and nearly all of its male citizens took the oath. The original 
manuscript is in the possession of the Berks County Histori- 
cal Society, Reading, and contains the signatures of 5,500 men. 

ZERBES WHO TOOK THE OATH OF ALLEGIANCE 

Zerben, Peter. 

Zerbe, Johannes, (the miller, Moravian), affirmed. 

Zerbe, Hannes. 

Zerbe, John George (son of George Peter.) 

Zerbe, Michael (son of George Peter.) 

Zerben, Daniel, (son of John, the miller.) 

Zerben, George Adam, (son of John, the miller.) 

Zerben, Christian, (son of John, the miller.) 

Zerben, Peter, Sr. (George Peter.) 

Zerbe, Christian (son of John Jacob, Martin.) 

Zerbe, Peter. 

Zerbe, Johannes. 

Zerbe, Phillip. 

Zerbe, Leonard. 

Zerbe, Peter, Jr. 

Zerbe, Benjamin. 

Zerben, Jacob. 

A few only of the connections have been given, others are found on 
another page. 

The above, with one or two exceptions, all served in the Revolutionary 
War. Their records are substantiated on another page. No names on 
the list are duplicated. The signatures, each, refer to a different man of 
the same name. 



262 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

TAXABLES IN BERKS COUNTY, ORGANIZED 1752 

1753 — Tulpehocken Township, John Zerbe, (m. C. Stupp.) 

1754 — Heidelberg Township, John Zerbe, the miller. 

1754 — Tulpehocken Township, George Peter Zerbe and Peter, Jr. 

1754 — Bethel Township, Jacob Zerbe. 

1754 — Heidelberg Township, Phillip Zerbe, (afterward of Hetzel's.) 

1758 — Heidelberg Township, (same) Phillip Zerbe. 

1772 — Pine Grove Township, Daniel Zerbe. (Heidelberg Township in 
Revolutionary War.) 

1786 — Pine Grove Township, Phillip, Daniel, and George Adam Zerbe. 

1786 — Brunswick Township, (Manheim), John George Zerbe. 

1786--Same, Peter Zerbe, single, a sojourner. (Supposed to be the 
Peter who went to Mahantongo Township and afterward settled in Clarion 
County.) 

1798 — Tulpehocken Township, John, Emanuel, Christian, Valentine, 
Leonard, John and Michael Zerbe. 

1798 — Heidelberg Township, Christian Zerbe. 

1798 — Pine Grove Township, Daniel, Daniel, Jonathan, Jonathan, 
George, and Phillip Zerbe. 

1810 — Mahantongo Township, Peter Zerbe. 

1810 — Mahantongo Township, George Zerbe, sojourner. 

1810 — Heidelberg Township, John (the second miller), and Christian 
Zerbe. 

1810^ — Pine Grove Township, Phillip, Jonathan, Christian, George Adam, 
Thomas and Adam Zerbe. 

DATE OF EARLY CHURCHES ERECTED IN SCHUYL- 
KILL COUNTY WHEN PART OF BERKS 

1755 — Zion's, or Red Church, West Brunswick Township. 

1795 — Christ's Reformed, opposite Red Church. 

1780 — St. Jacob's Church, one and a half miles from Pinegrove. 

1784— St. Paul's, South Manheim. 

1791 — St. John's, Friedensburg. 

1790 — Summer Hill, near Auburn. 

1798 — Frieden's Kirche, New Ringgold. 

Some of the above churches existed before they were formally 
organized. 

Services were held in the school house adjoining the cemetery, in 
Beaver Valley, two miles from Cressona, at an early date. This was the 
first cemetery in that vicinity until the New Jerusalem, near the alms- 
house, was laid out. 

THE FIRST CENSUS 

The first census in Pennsylvania was taken 1790. The following are 
the names of Zerbes in Berks County at that date and the heads of 
families: 

Adam Zerbe, Andrew Zerbe, Benjamin Zerbe, Benjamin, Jr., Zerbe, 
Catharine Zerbe, widow; Christian Zerbe, Christian Zerbe, Elias Zerbe, 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 263 

Of the Zerbeys 

Elizabeth Zerbe, George Zerbe, Godfrey Zerbe, John George Zerbe, John 
Zerbe, John Zerbe, John Zerbe, Leonard Zerbe, Peter Zerbe, Phillip Zerbe, 
Wendel Zerbe, Benjamin Serva, Benjamin Serva, Frederick Serva, Michael 
Serva, Jacob Serva, Christian Server, David Server, Henry Server, Jacob 
Server, Jacob Server, Jacob, Jr., Server, John Server, John Server, John 
Server, Phillip Server. 

(Note — Where a similarity of names occurs, each refers to a dif- 
ferent person.) 

GRUBER FAMILY, INTERMARRIED WITH ZERBES 

Henry Gruber, born, 1710. Died, 1777. Will probated, 
June 17, 1777, Berks County, court house. Came to this 
country in the ship "Dragon," qualifying at Philadelphia, 
September 30, 1732, and naturalized April 10, 1761. Wife, 
Maria Euphrosina. He was a member of the Little Tulpe- 
hocken Church, one and a half miles southwest of Bernville. 
When St. Daniel's Corner Church (near Robesonia) was 
founded, he was one of the original members and he and his 
wife are buried in that churchyard, and fifty or more of his 
descendants are interred there. He took up three hundred 
acres of land in North Heidelberg Township and surveyed 
it June 17, 1737. In 1761 this land was patented by Penn's 
agents and in 1769 he divided it into two almost equal por- 
tions between his sons, John Adam and Henry. His chil- 
dren were: John Adam, b., October 19, 1735; d., March 6, 
1807, who had two wives, Elizabeth and Sarah. John Adam 
had twelve children. 

John^ Gruber, (John- Adam, Henry^) owned the old 
Gruber homestead, from 1807 till his death, 1829. He had six 
children. 

Albrecht Gruber, b.. May 9, 1754; d., March 11, 1825; 
wf., Susanna Vilibina, da. of Henry Knobb and wf., Maria 
Catharine Fidler, b., July 30, 1767; d., June 16, 1847. Both, 
with a number of their descendants, are buried at the Union 
Church, Smithfield, Jefiferson County, West Virginia, to where 
they removed from Jefferson Township, Berks County, Penn- 
sylvania, about 1806 and where he bought a farm of three 



264 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

hundred acres. They had five sons and four daughters. The 
third child, Susanna Phillipina Gruber, married John^ Zerbe, 
(Christian^', John-, the m., Lorentz^,) the second miller. Al- 
brecht Gruber \vas a son of Christian Gruber, brother of 
Henry, the immigrant, who was b. October i8, 1712; d., No- 
vember 14, 1781. His wife was Anna Christiana Kunin- 
gunda Stupp, 1). December 21, 1721 ; d.. May 30, 1799. 

Elmira Gerhart, da. of Gabriel Gerhart, b. February 24, 
1816, d., December 31, 1891, and wf. Catharine Gruber, b. 
February i, 1825, d.. May 24, 1865., m. Monroe Zerbe. 

(The Gruber and Sontag tracts of land in Tulpehocken Township, 
now Jefferson and North Heidelberg, were adjacent to the Zerbe lands.) 

John^ Adam, b., 1705, d., 1807, (Henry^). A daughter, 
Catharine, m. John Keller, 1798. They had two children, 
Martha and John Keller. Martha married a John Zerbe. 
Their children were: Eli, Darius, Rebecca, Catharine, Sarah, 
William and John. (Little Tulpehocken church.) 

Richard'' Michael Gruber (Michael^, John^, John^ Adam, 
Henry^), b., July 20, 1834, d., March 14, 1909; wf., Mary Ann 
Schaeffer, 1). September 14, 1833, d., December 26, 1904; both 
buried in St. Daniel's cemetery. He was a farmer and school 
teacher and a resident of North Heidelberg for forty-eight 
years, where he taught school for thirteen consecutive terms. 
He and his four sons have a remarkable record as school 
teachers, each of them attending his school. The eldest 
taught fourteen terms and was succeeded in turn by his 
brothers, one of whom is still teaching. Sons : 

John Emanuel, b. March 13, 1857; single, lives at Robesonia; clerk in 
the Recorder of Deed's office, Reading; 

Calvin Luther, b., April 8, 1864; of the faculty of the Kutztown State 
Normal School; wf., Sallie G. Belleman; one daughter, Florence May. 

Horace Wayne, b., January 16, 1871; wf., Sarah Susanna Gruber; 
descended from the line of Christianl; brother of Henryl Gruber. They 
have two sons. He is employed at present in the Reading shops of the 
Reading Railway Company. 

Michael*^ Alvin Gruber, (Richard"' Michael, Michael,"* John-^, 

John" Adam, Henryl) ; b., April 24, 1855, in North Heidelberg 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 265 

Of the Zerbeys 

Township. Graduated from Muhlenberg College, with the 
degree of Alaster of Arts, and chose teaching as his profes- 
sion. During the school term of 1890-91, forty of his pupils 
were teaching in Berks County. In March, 1891, he passed 
the civil service examination and was appointed to a clerk- 
ship in the U. S. A. War Department, Washington, D. C. 
The map of the early Manors in Berks County, on another 
page, is from his pen, he having taken his own surveys. Wife, 
Amelia Margaret Petree, whom he married 1877 ^"<i ^y whom 
he had nine children, four of whom are living. 

Ralph Arthur, b., November 12, 1879; d., March 16, 1911; buried at 
Tulpehocken (Royer's) Meeting House, Lebanon County, Pa.; graduate, 
1899, of the Keystone State Normal School; taught school two years; 
married, in 1902, Louisa Elizabeth Eckert, daughter of William J. and 
Fianna (Mohler) Eckert; one child, a daughter, Anna Louisa, b., Decem- 
ber 8, 1902. 

Grace Evangeline, b., October 19, 1882; Womelsdorf, Pa. 

Ella Florence, b., July 10, 1884; m., Harry E. Betz; four children: 
Earl James Michael, Anna Mary Amelia, Harry Gruber, and Eva Mar- 
garet; Womelsdorf, Pa. 

Annie May, b., December 10, 1885; graduate, 1905, of the Keystone 
State Normal School, Kutztown, Pa.; teaching school, 1905-9, at Wom- 
elsdorf, Pa., and 1910-12 at Weissport, Pa. 

Mary Amelia, b., October 1, 1888; graduate, 1908, of the Inter-State 
Commercial College, Reading, Pa.; married Webster Schnabel; a daugh- 
ter, Naomi Margaret, West Reading, Pa. 

Nicholas Gruber, immigrant, settled in Bucks County, 
1750. John H. Gruber, son of Peter Gruber, b., December 14, 
1800, d., February 5, 1873. John was b., April 10, 1825, d., 
October 27, 1888; wf., Angeline Wise. Both are buried in 
Mumma's cemetery, Harrisburg. Their daughter, Annie E, 
Gruver, married Wm. H. Zerbe, Insurance and Real Estate 
Agency, Harrisburg, Pa. John H. Gruver and father, Peter 
Gruber, born at Green Tree, near Philadelphia, conducted a 
shoe store in Harrisburg. They were descended from Nicho- 
las Gruber. The change in the spelling of the name has no 
significance. 



366 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

SONTAG FAMILY, ZERBE LAND AND ADJACENT 

TRACT 

Sontag (Sunday) Zerbe. Hans Adam Sontag landed at Philadelphia, 
October 26, 1741. There was surveyed for him, on the Little Swatara, 
north of Rehersburg, 248 acres of land. He assigned this land to Martin 
Triester, who received a patent therefor, July 31, 1750. He lived in the 
Tulpehocken after this date, but there is no record of his taking up land. 
Adam Sontag, April 18, 1757, had a mortgage recorded on a tract of land 
in Tulpehocken Township. Fifty acres of land was warranted, March 7, 
1746, for the use, in trust, of the Blue Mountain (Zion) church, east of 
Strausstown. Adam Sontag appears as one of the trustees. The children 
of Adam Sontag and wife were: Maria Catharine, bap. August 11, 1745; 
Jacob, bap. June 2, 1748; Herman, bap. March 30, 1751; Anna Catharine, 
bap. November 17, 1753; b. October 30, 1753. 

In Deed Book A, Vol. 5, p. 352, Reading: — John Adam Sontag, of 
Tulpehocken Twp. (one of the sons of John Adam Sontag, late of Selchen- 
bach in the upper Bailiwick of Lichtenberg, in the Dutchy of Zweybrueck, 
deceased), and Anna Elisabetha, his wife (late Anna Elisabetha Paff, one 
of the daughters of Valentine Paff, late of Schwartzenehren in the Baili- 
wick of Lichtenberg, aforesaid, deceased), send greeting: That the said 
John Adam Sontag and Anna Elizabetha, his wife, for and in consider- 
ation of the natural love which they bear to Nicholas Sontag, of Selchen- 
bach, aforesaid, one of the brothers of John Adam Sontag, do grant unto 
the said Nicholas Sontag all the Inheritances within the Dutchy of Zwey- 
brueck. To have and to hold, etc., etc. Acknowledged before James Read, 
Esq., one of the justices of the peace of Berks County, on June 27, 1768. 

Adam Sontag, b., June 5, 1764. He married Elizabeth Muench, in 
Berks County, December 1, 1789. The census of 1790 gives them as living 
in Brunswick Township, with one girl, one boy. 1793 Adam Sontag ap- 
pears as a landholder in Northumberland County with four hundred 
acres. In 1800 Adam Sunday removed from Northumberland to Centre 
County, where he died, April 24, 1855, at George's Valley, his widow 
surviving. There is no record of any Sundays intermarrying with the 
Zerbes. Henry Sunday, the ancestor of Jacob D. Sunday, present owner 
of "Zerbe's Mill," is supposed to be a descendant of Hans Adam Sontag, 
but there is no direct proof. This man, with George Peter Zerbe, was 
in the Indian war, 1756, when the red men raided that township for cat- 
tle. (Indian Forts, Part 1.) (Penna. Archives, Series 5, Vol. 1, p. 50.) 

A Johan Michael, son of Jacob Sontag and wf., Catharine, b;, August 
31, 1752, baptized November 12. (St. Michael and Zion's church, Phila.) 

FIRST GENERATION 

Lorentz Zerbe, (Zarva, Sevier), Huguenot, was one of 
the three brothers who came from Alsace, France, and sub- 
sequently Switzerland and the Palatinates, to New York, 
1710, settling on Livingstone Manor and in the Schoharie 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 267 

Of the Zerbeys 

Valley, coming- to the region of the Tulpehocken, Chester 
County, 1723, with the thirty-three families from Schoharie, 
New York. His history up to this time is synonymous with 
that of his brothers, Mardin and John Phillip, except that 
there is no record of his having taken part in Queen Anne's 
war, 171 1. 

He was one of the signers of the petition presented 
Governor Keith, and his executive council, of the Pirovince 
of Pennsylvania, by Indian Commissioner Logan, Novem- 
ber 25, 1727-28, for a settlement of their lands with the In- 
dians — finally effected September 7, 1732. His name on 
the petition was written in German script as "Loritine 
Serbo." (Lorentz Zerbe, Part i.) 

LORENTZ ZERBE 

Lorentz Zerbe, b., 1687; wf., no record. Their children 
were : 

John Zerbe, the miller, b. 1709, d. 1796; Senjamin, b, 1711; Phillip, 
b 1714; Peter, b. 1724; Margaret, b. 1729, d. 1807; was married three times 
(His. Samuel Isles). There were doubtless other daughters and, perhaps, 
sons born in the interim from 1714 to 1729, of whom there is no record. 

Lorentz Zerbe took possession of a tract of land on the 
Tulpehocken Creek, 1731, and the homestead, a log cabin, 
stood on the knoll above the old mill on the site of the house 
now occupied by Nathaniel Zerbe. 

On the original warrant, taken out by his son, John 
Zerbe, the m., April 22, 1736, at Harrisburg, it says, "who 
had already been on this land for five years." The warrant 
"granted" was for 250 acres and 14 perches of land. (Deed 
Book, office of Internal Affairs, Harrisburg.)^ 

Twenty-five acres and 14 perches of this tract were pat- 
ented to Barbara Fohrer and John Nicholas, March 17, 1817, 

(Note 1 — Reckoning each generation at about thirty years, and the 
three emigrants as twenty-one years and over (1710) the second gen- 
eration began 1728-1737. Those that brought children with them or 
that were born in New York, began earlier.) 



268 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

and 158 acres and 50 perches of the same tract to John Zerbe, 
Jr., et al., January 24, 1873, the land being described as be- 
ing in Heidelberg and Tulpehocken Townships. Lorentz 
Zerbe was doubtless upon this land, 1723, but like others of 
the early settlers was unable to gain a title until the settle- 
ment was made with the Indians. 

This land was re-surveyed, November 25, 1786, to John 
Klinger, Benjamin Servy, George Forrer, Christian Servy, 
and the aforesaid John Servy ; the foregoing two being sons 
of John Zerbe, the miller, and one of the others his son-in- 
law. Upon this land was erected before 1742, the grist mill 
known as "Zerbe's Mill," and mentioned hereafter. 

John "Service" surveyed 200 acres of land (October 6, 
1738, Lancaster County C. H., Recorder's office.) 

The township of Heidelberg was laid off from Tulpe- 
hocken, 1734, at Lancaster, when the town of Lancaster was 
erected. When Berks County was erected in 1752, part of 
Heidelberg remained in Lancaster County. Heidelberg was 
divided, 1842, into North Heidelberg, Heidelberg and Lower 
Heidelberg. 

(Note — John Klingor is mentioned in land transactions of Phillip 
Zerbe and in connection with the Spanchuchen.) 

A grist mill existed, 1732, near the junction of the 
"Muhlbach" and Tulpehocken Creek. The sagacity of the 
early settlers in settling along the streams was remarkable. 
The water power was used to operate small mills for articles 
their necessities demanded. It is not known when the Zerbe 
mill was erected, but it was in operation and the mill build- 
ing on the ground when John "Zerba" bought the right of 
additional water power from Jacob Follmer, whose mill was 
farther up the stream ; and was probably operated on a 
small scale by his father, Lorentz, before 1735. The original 
agreement, of which the insert is a fac simile, is to be found 
in the Pennsylvania Historical Society Library, Phila., in 
the "Original Manuscripts of Berks and Schuylkill Coun- 



WATER RIGHT AGREEMENT OF JOHANNES ZERBE, 1747 









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SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 269 

Of the Zerbeys 

ties, from 1693 to 1869." Conrad Weiser, Indian Interpreter, 
witness. The 50 pounds referred to were about $150 Penn- 
sylvania currency. The date of the agreement was October 

The map on another page of the settlers' lands, 1742, 
original copy, is also among the manuscripts. 

John Zerbe, the m., Heidelberg Township, gave a mort- 
gage to Albrecht Strauss, January 2, 1768, for 40 pounds, on 
his grist and saw mill and 140 acres of land. Strauss ac- 
knowledged payment, June 4, 1784. It is believed that 
Lorentz Zerbe lived and died upon this tract and that his 
tomb, like that of his son John's, is to be found in the North 
Heidelberg cemetery, less than a half mile above the orig- 
inal homestead plot. John Zerbe was one of the builders of 
this church, 1744. 

SECOND GENERATION 

EARLY ZERBE MILL 

The early Zerbe mill w^as situated three and a half miles 
up the Tulpehocken river from Bernville. It was one of the 
earliest saw and grist mills in Berks County and was oper- 
ated before 1735, by Lorentz, John, the Miller, and after 
by John, the second miller, son of Christian. An old road 
draft (Berks County C. H.) shows the exact locality of the 
first mill and homestead of John Zerbe, the miller, so marked. 
Others who operated these two mills were John George Fer- 
rer, son-in-law of John Zerbe, the miller, Jacob Seybert, Jacob 
Wilhelm and Abraham Krick, after whom it w^as called 
Krick's Mills, the present name of the post office. The old 
mill was destroyed by fire. John Zerbe (Christian), the 
second miller, built the stone mill, a half mile down the Tul- 
pehocken, now owned and operated by Jacob D. Sunday. 

(Note 1— August Knecht, Pottsvillc, former editor and publisher of 
the "Amerikanischer Republicaner," translated the document from the 
German.) 



270 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

The foundation walls of the old Zerbe mill are intact 
and solid except where part of the walls were removed to 
use the stone elsewhere. The miller's house in the rear of 
mill is still standing, the fire not reaching it. Under the gar- 
den, with the entrance in the cellar of the mill, is a large 
vault walled in and as substantial as it was a century and a 
half ago. The underground cellar was built as a refuge from 
the Indians in 1750 — 56. 

John Zerbe, the miller, lived in the log house, the Lor- 
entz Zerbe homestead, until he dispossessed himself of his 
property or at least until 1788. In 1806, when the Little Tul- 
pehocken church was rebuilt, the early Zerbe homestead was 
razed and the present structure built. In its construction the 
two oak entrance doors to the church were used and the two 
columns used to support the church are still standing as the 
underpinning of the front part of the dwelling. In the large 
hall are the balustrades of the staircase of the church sur- 
mounting the steps. On the large doors the figures 1742 — 
1806 are carved. Forty pounds was paid for the material from 
the Little Tulpehocken church by Jacob Seybert, (1806,) who 
was then the owner of the John^ the miller property. The 
present owner of the house and farm is Nathaniel Zerbe, a 
g. g. g. son of the fifth generation of John the Miller and 
Annie his wife, a born Zerbe, with his mother, wife of Henry 
Zerbe, d. ; his business is that of a market gardener. 

(Note) — C. Z. Weiser, in his life of Conrad Weiser, men- 
tions John Philip Zerbe, Martin Zerbe and Lorentz Zerbe as 
among those who lived in Livingstone Manor, N. Y., in 1710- 
'11, and as being over 21 years of age.) 

John^ Zerbe (the miller), (Lorentz^,) b. 1709, d. 1796. 
He was twice married. First wf., Eva ; 2d wf., Elizabeth, m. 
1742. He is accredited with having had 21 sons and daugh- 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 271 

Of the Zerbeys 

ters, hut some of these helonged to the eldest sons of those 
of the second generation, hereinafter referred to. His chil- 
dren were with, perhaps, some others : 

John Jacob, bap. August 14, 1743; sponsors, John Jacob SchaclTer and 
John George Gardeau. 

(Note — The author paid $1.00 for this one name, obtained at the 
Moravian Historical Archives, Bethlehem, Pa., Prof. Wm. A. Schwarze, 
Librarian.) 

Benjamin, b. 1739; bap., 1740; wf., Elizabeth. (Vol. 5, No. I, Gen. 
Soc. Pub., Philadelphia.) 

John Jr., b., 1738; d., 1805; wf., Catharine. 

Susanna, d., Jan. 17, 1807. 

Peter, b. about 1730; wf., Elizabeth. 

Daniel, wf., Anna Maria. 

Jonathan. 

Valentine, settled in Lancaster County. 

Margaret. 

Leonard, b. July 12, 1745; bap. September 28,1745; d. August 20.1824; 
m., Barbara, daughter of John Wenrich. 

Christian, b. November 16, 1750; d. August 6, 1809; m. Sophia Eliza- 
beth Liechen. 

George Adam, b .December 13, 1753; d. August 5, 1828; m. Catharine. 

George, b. September 3, 1754; d. October 11, 1824; m. Christiana Wen- 
rich; d. November 12, 1821. 

Barbara, m. John George Fohrer. 

Elizabeth, m. John Nicholas. 

Elizabeth, wf. of John Zerbe, the miller, died December, 
1749; m., 1742, (Moravian records). This would indicate that 
he had a third wife, of whom there is no record as George 
Zerbe, Revolutionary soldier, was born 1754 and other sons 
were born after the above date and are duly accredited to 
John the miller. 

John Zerbe, the m., took out a patent for land, 250 acres 
and 14 perches, April 22, 1736, and another for 200 acres, 
October 6, 1738, as noted in statement of Lorentz Zerbe on 
a previous page. 

John Zerbe, the m., with his brother, Phillip, were peti- 
tioners for a new county to be separated from Lancaster 
County, 1738. 



272 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

In pursuance of an Act of Parliament made in the 13th 
year of the reign of King George 2d, an Act for naturalizing 
foreign protestants was passed in his Majesty's colonies, en- 
titling such to naturalization after producing to court, certifi- 
cates of having taken the Sacrament within three months and 
taking the prescribed oath, they thereby, "became natural 
born subjects of Great Britain." Of these at the April term 
of the Supreme Court in Philadelphia, April 10, 1754, was: 
John "Sarvar" the miller. 

(Note — Others on the same list were : John Caspar 
Stoever, September 20, 1741 ; Albrecht Strauss, September 
24, 1755; Samuel Filbert, September 24, 1755; Michael Stout, 
April I, 1761, Berks County.) 

John Zerbe the m., was a taxpayer, 1754, and tax collector 
in Heidelberg Township, Berks County, 1758. 

BLUE MOUNTAIN LANDS 

No record can be found of when John- Zerbe, the m., took 
out the first warrant for the tract of land "over the blue 
hills," now Schuylkill County, but mention is made of his 
land and the several lands of his son, "John Jr.", in the land 
surveyed by order of Secy. Richard Peters, April 10, 1754, 
to Benjamin Zerbe, of Bethel Township, Dauphin County, 
who was the grantor, to George Adam Zerbe (son of John 
the miller), August 9, 1788; this tract, hereinafter men- 
tioned, adjoining that of John the m., Sr. and John Jr. The 
land contained 658 acres and with that of father and son 
and others of his sons, approximated over one thousand 
acres in Pinegrove Township, on the waters of Swatara 
Creek and in the "Blue Mountain Hollow," now Schuylkill 
County. 

John "Zerben" Sr., Heidelberg Township, Berks Coun- 
ty, miller, makes application, September 11, 1765, No. 770, 
Berks Co. Deed Book, "for 300 acres of land in Pinegrove 
To^\ nsliip ; surrounded by land of John Zerbe Sr., and oth- 



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SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 273 

Of the Zerbeys 

ers, for 60 pounds, paid by (his son), Daniel Zerben, of said 
Township, who gets one-half of the above mentioned tract 
of 300 acres. 

Benjamin Zerbe, Pinegrove Township, March 15, 1785, 
John Zerbe, Sr., miller, of Heidelberg Township, gives to the 
above for 200 pounds in gold and silver, 658 acres paid in 
installments now satisfied, land north to John Zerbe, Sr., 
then south to John, Jr., tract of 658 acres. Berks County, Deed 
Book II, p. 20., Recorder's office. The warrant was issued 
for its survey by Secretary Peters to John Zerbe, Sr. 

The draft and survey of the George i\dam Zerbe tract 
appears in the Surveyor General's ofhce, Philadelphia, (says 
the deed), but it may be seen in the office of Internal Affairs, 
Harrisburg. It says, "upon the payment of 25 pounds addi- 
tional in gold and silver, the claim was satisfied and he be- 
came the owner, August 9, 1788. 

(Note — There were three John Zerbes, taxables, 1754- 
They were of the second and third generation. There were 
also three John Zerbes in the Revolutionary War, 1776 — '83, 
but the latter were of the third generation. The taxables 
were: John the m., John (m. Stupp), and the third John may 
have been John, son of Benjamin, son of Lorentz, or John, 
son of John Jacob. 

John Zerbe, Jr., Tulpehocken, gave toValentine Gebhardt, 
May 4, 1779, a mortgage for eight hundred pounds on two 
tracts of land "across the Blue Mountains," containing 150 
and 40 acres of land each. This was marked "satisfied." 

Daniel Zerbe, Pinegrove Township, gave a mortgage for 
470 pounds, August 5, 1786, on 444 acres of land, two saw 
mills and one grist mill to Christian Uhler, of Lebanon, 
marked "satisfied." 

There was altogether 1000 acres of land in these tracts 
this side of the Blue Mountain, and John Zerbe, the m., of 
Heidelberg Township, sold it to Daniel, Benjamin, John, Jr., 



274 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

Jonathan, George Adam, Leonard, Christian, Christopher and 
John George Zerbe, the latter purchasing part of Benjamin's 
tract, 1788. 

(Note — The name John, meaning "by the Grace of God," 
was affixed to, as well as used as a direct name. There were 
in some families as many as five sons having the name John 
as a prefix and also a straight John. John Jacob or "Han 
Yawcob," etc. The name Maria (Mary) was used in the 
same sense with the girls but usually as a middle name.) 

TULPEHOCKEN CONFUSION 

John Zer])e, the m., signed rules in the Tulpehocken con- 
fusion for the establishment of a school, 1744. The boarding 
school at Nazareth, Moravian, was founded, IS'Iay 28, 1745, 
with 18 pupils, and discontinued 1785. Elizabeth Zerbe, da. 
of John the m., and Ann Catharine, da. of Michael Ricth, of 
Tulpehocken and Heidelberg Townships, were boarding pu- 
pils. During their school days two little Indian girls. Beata 
and Sarah, were baptized at Nazareth, July 27, 1746; they 
died of smallpox. The girls were taught spinning in this 
school in addition to their studies. (Vol. I, Transactions of 
Moravians, Reichel, p. 65.) 

Albrecht Klotz, from Tulpehocken, native of Hohenloe, 
Lower Palatinate, m. Ann Margaret, da. of iMichael Rieth, h. 
in the Schoharie. He kept the Inn, known as the "Rose." at 
Nazareth. It was a refuge during the Indian massacre when 
sixty terrified men, women and children came to it and the 
Moravian "Euphrata" Inn for shelter, November 25, 1755, 
and 200 were killed in the vicinity and 100 in the adjacent 
neighborhood. — (Indian Forts, Vol. i, p. 272.) 

The North Heidelberg church, Moravian, was built in 
the Summer of 1744 and was dedicated November 4 with 
twenty-two members, among them John Zerbe, the miller, 
and wife Elizabeth. It was a Moravian church from that date 
to 1760 when the Moravians retired. 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 275 

Of the Zerbeys 

The Moravian Seminary and College for girls and women 
at Bethlehem was founded 1742. (Montgomery.) 

The Moravians during their settlement in Oley Township 
erected two dwellings on land donated to them by John 
De Turck, (g. g. f. of Samuel De Turck, Friedensburg), 
one of which was for several years a flourishing boarding 
school. There were April, 1753, eight of the Brethren and 
seven Moravian Sisters here, but John Brucker, who was 
their pastor, reported the church poorly attended and advised 
those that desired to be brought up in the church to transfer 
their membership to the North Heidelberg church. 

John Zerbe, the m., gave power of attorney, October 11, 
1785, to Leonard, his son, and having dispossessed himself 
of most of his property in favor of his heirs, retired to Bethel 
Township, Dauphin, now Lebanon County, to live with his 
eldest son, Benjamin. The above recorded, Deed Book 9, p. 
185, says, "Will at Large." (Berks Co. C. H.) He signed him- 
self as John Zerbe "Der Alt." Bethel Township, Dauphin 
County. 

January 5, 1791, he sold 50 acres of land in Heidelberg 
Township (presumably the homestead), to John George and 
Barbara Fohrer, his daughter. There is no record of when 
or where he died, but tradition says he is buried in North 
Heidelberg cemetery and that he died at the house at the old 
mill. Other records place the date as about 1796. The Foh- 
rers sold the place and removed to Pinegrove Township. 
Captain Michael Fohrer, captain of one of the three com- 
panies in the Revolutionary War, from Berks (Schuylkill) 
County, was a brother of George Fohrer, married to Barbara 
Zerbe. 

The estate of John Zerbe, "der Alt," was not fully set- 
tled until 1806, when April 8, his grandchildren, Jacob, Cath- 
arine, David, Samuel and Joseph, children of John Zerbe, Jr.. 
petitioned that they might have a share in his estate George 
Kohl was appointed guardian. 



276 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

(Note — George Kohl was married to a daughter of John 
Zerbe, Jr., and lived in Cumru Township, operating the mill 
of John, of Cumru, after his retirement and death. 

SECOND AND THIRD GENERATIONS 

There were three Benjamins of successive generations : 
Benjamin^ (Lorentz^,) b. about 171 1. 

(Note — Among the folklore of the country a tradition in the Zerbe 
Jamily credits this old Benjamin as having been seven feet tall with 
corresponding muscular strength.) 

John^ Zerbe (Benjamin^, Lorentz^,) b. 1732, m. Anna 
Barbara Weickard, 1753; d. November 28, 1758, Tulpehocken. 
This John was witness for the will of Jacob Weickard, May 
I3» 1753- Letters of administration were granted the widow, 
Anna Barbara. 

Benjamins Zerbe (John3 the m., Lorentzl,) b. 1739; wf., Elizabeth. 
(Little Tulpehocken Church record.) Children: Hermanus, b. March 24, 
1765; m. Maria Rieth, May 12, 1799. 

Benjamin4 Zerbe, (Benjamin^, John3 the m., Lorentz', )b. May 7, 1763; 
d. April 17, 1819; m. Anna Margaret Wirtz, b. September 17, 1781. Their 
children were: 1793, April 17, Elizabeth; 1795, October 3, Susan Marga- 
reth; 1800, August 15, Daniel; 1806, May 11, Elizabeth; 1815, Benjamin; 
1816, Jacob. (Baptisms, Christ Church.) 

The children of Hermanus Zerbe and his wf. Maria Reith were: 
1804, June 11, Heinrich; 1802, December 1, Samuel; 180G, February 20, 
Elizabeth. John Jacob and Eva Reith were sponsors. (Baptisms, Christ 
Church.) 

Benjamin^ Zerbe settled in that part of Bethel Township, 
Berks County, that was afterward included in Dauphin Coun- 
ty on its erection, now Lebanon County. He is on record, 
1754, as having land surveyed to him in Pinegrove Town- 
ship by order of Secretary Richard Peters. (See John the 
m.) The majority of Zerbes in Dauphin and Lebanon Coun- 
ties are the descendants of this man. 

John Zerbe, (the miller), grantor, March 26, 1788, to 
Benjamin Zerbe, Tulpehocken Township (B. 10, p. 332) ; 
John Zerbe, Sr., Pinegrove Township, grantor. June 11, 1788. 
(B. II, p. 20.) 




TOMBSTONE OF MARIA MARGARETHA ZERBEY ILES, WIFE OF 
MISSIONARY TO ANTIGUA, WEST INDIES. 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 277 

Of the Zerbeys 

Michael Kuntz, grantor, to Benjamin Zerbe, Pinegrove 
Township, (B. 12, p. 246.) 

Part of this tract of 1000 acres in Pinegrove Township 
was taken up by John George^ Zerbe (George^ Peter.) 

Benjamin Zerbe was a taxpayer in Pinegrove Township, 
1772. — (Revokitionary War Record.) 

SECOND GENERATION 

There w^ere two Peters of the second generation. 

Peter^ Zerbe (Lorentzi), b. 1724; wf. Anna Elizabeth 
Emerich; bap., da. Anna Elizabeth, March 16, 1748. Magar 
and Elizabeth Emerich, sponsors. — (Stoever's records,) 
and George- Peter (Martin^.) 

THIRD GENERATION 

Peter' Zerbe (John^ the m., Lorentz^), b. 1730, m. Anna 
Elizabeth, da. of Abraham Loucks, December 20, 1747. 
Abraham Loucks, in will proven August 15, 1772, (Vol. 2, p. 
115, Abstract of Wills, Berks County, Genealogical Society, 
Philadelphia,) mentions his daughter Elizabeth, married to 
Peter^ Zerbe, (John- the m., Lorentz^), and her daughter 
Elizabeth, also his daughter Christina, married to George- 
Peter Zerbe (Martin^). George Peter also had a son Peter. 

DR. SAMUEL ISLES, MISSIONARY TO ANTIGUA, 
DANISH WEST INDIES 

The Moravian Church in America owes its existence to 
Count Zinzendorf, nobleman of Saxony, who in 1722, began 
to gather together the persecuted Huguenots and espoused 
their cause. He established a colony on his estate and sent 
out many missionaries and small colonies to distant parts 
of the world. 

Zinzendorf, the great head of "the Universal Church," 
was present at the coronation of Christian VI, of Denmark. 
Some of his domestics became acquainted with a negro who 



278 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

told them of the miseries endured by the negro slaves in 
St. Thomas, Danish West Indies, and Zinzendorf determin- 
ed to send teachers to them. Leonard and Tobias Leupold 
left London, 1731, for St. Thomas. 

Dr. Samuel Isles followed 1748, spending eight years of 
active service at Nisky, on that island. In 1756 he went to 
Antigua, D. W. I. On his arrival he waited on the Governor 
and showed him the Act passed 1749, by the Danish govern- 
ment, favoring the work of the Moravian Brethren. The 
planters patronized him giving him their permission to preach 
on their plantations. The following year he baptized a negro 
woman and proposals were made him for l)uilding a place of 
worship. In 1761 a piece of ground, in the town of St. Johns, 
was bought for a mission and Samuel Isles with his two as- 
sistants, John Bennet and Wm. Lister, continued to preach 
and Avork among the negroes. 

Contagious fevers prevailed in the Danish West Indies 
that were peculiarly fatal to Europeans ; it was from one of 
these fevers that Samuel Isles' first wife died, in 1760, leaving 
a daughter four years old. Thirty-six negroes were baptized 
in the small native church and 7,400 from 1756 to 1792 by suc- 
cessive missionaries. Count Zinzendorf was amazed at the 
work accomplished and the Government acknowledged the 
benefit of it. (Sketches of Moravian Missions, 1731 — 1817, by 
Rev. John Holmes.) Of the 194 persons employed in the last 
one hundred years on this Island, forty-six have died of the 
native fever. (Retrospect of Moravian Missions in Antigua, 
London Publication, p. 6.) 

John Brucker came to Pennsylvania, 1742. From 1743 
to 1745 he was a missionary on St. Thomas, Danish West 
Indies. In 1746 he became pastor of the Moravian churches 
in the Tulpehocken. From 1754 to 1764 he was the first 
resident missionary on St. Juan, D. W. I. In 1761 he accom- 
panied Samuel Isles, for a short respite from their work, to 
-Pennsylvania where Samuel Isles married Maria Margaret 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 279 

Of the Zerbeys 

Zerbe, daughter of Lorentz Zerbe and sister of John Zerbe, 
the miller, Moravian, who helped build the North Heidelberg, 
Moravian, church, where John Brucker at times preached and 
assisted Brother Neubert and his wife Elizabeth, in the par- 
sonage. John Brucker returned and went to St. Crois, 
where he died, November 8, 1765. 

Samuel Isles was accompanied by his wife to Antigua, 
leaving his daughter in charge of the Moravian sisterhood, to 
be educated at the school, Bethlehem, Pa. She died at the 
age of 57, unmarried. 

Samuel Isles died in Antigua of fever, in 1765, and was 
buried there. (Transactions of the Moravians, Vol. 4, p. 268; 
Vol. 6, p. 184; Vol. 5, p. 189.) 

From tombstones in old Moravian cemetery, Bethlehem : 

Maria Elizabeth Isles, b. 1756; d. 1S13. She was born in 
the Island of Antigua, D. \V. I. her father, Samuel Isles, be- 
ing the pioneer missionary on that island, who died there. 
Row IX, unmarried women. Section C. 

]\Iaria Margaret Zerbe (da. of Lorentz Zerbe), b. 1729, 
d. 1807, from the Tulehocken, Pa., was thrice married. First 
husband, Samuel Isles, missionary to Antigua, D. W. I. ; m. 
November 29, 1761, who died there, 1765. Second husband, 
Paul Schneider, m. 1767, died same year. Third husband, J. 
Chr. Auerbach, m. 1769, d. 1792. 

Row V for women, section A, Old Moravian cemetery, 
Bethlehem, Pa. 

LEONARD ZERBE 

Leonard^ Zerbe, (John^ the m., Lorentz^,) b. July 12; 
bap. September 28, 1745; d. August 20, 1824; wf. Barbara 
Wenrich, b. July, 1744; d. December 29, 1819; c, John, b. 
August 12, 1772; bap. March 3, 1773; d. January 9, 1859. 
(Christ Church records) ; Christina, b. January 7, 1781 ; bap. 
December 24; d. September 9, 1854. (Little Tulpehocken 
church records); Leonard^ bap. June 4, 1783; d. September 



28o BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

i6, 1854; John was baptized same date. John Jacob, b. Octo- 
ber 25, 1786, (Christ church.) John"* (Leonard^) stood spon- 
sor for Leonhard's^ son; John S., b. 1817; bap. April 9, d. 
September 9, 1854. (Revolutionary War Record.) 

Leonard^ Zerbe lived in Bernville, where he has numerous descend- 
ants. Leonard^, (Leonard?'), b. June 4, 1783; d. September 1(5, 1854; m. 
Susanna Scharff, March 19, 1805, (Christ Church); b. July 8, 1788; d. 
March 6, 1858. Their children were: John S., b. 1817; Margaret, b. 
March 30, 1805; wf. Benjamin Marks; Eliza, b. October 4, 1814; wf. of 
Henry Martin. His will was probated November 8, 1854. (B. 8, p. 37, 
57, 157, Berks County C. H.) 

In the office of the Department of Internal Affairs, Harrisburg, is a 
draught of the original survey of 172 acres 76 perches of land in the 
Township of Tulpehocken, Berks County, to Leonard3 Zerbe, date of 
warrant August 1, 1793; returned January 20, 1819, by same. Jacob 
Spangler, Surveyor General. 

Israel^ Zerbe, b. October 24, 1840, still living, (John^' 
Scharf Zerbe, m. to Lydia Kantner; Leonard'* Zerbe, w. Su- 
sanna Scharf, Leonard^, w. Barbara Wenrich ; John^ the mil- 
ler, Lorentz^), m. Priscilla Barr; c, Adam, wf. Sallie Stoup ; 
Annie, m., one child. Israel Zerbe lives on a fine farm, his 
son Adam resides on the same place. The business of mar- 
ket gardening of the former being carried on by the son with 
Reading as the market place. Situated near Cross Keys P. O, 

VALENTINE ZERBE 

There were three Valentines of the third generation and 
one of the fourth. 

Valentine^ (John^ the m., Lorentz^.) He went early to 
Lancaster County, (B. R. 46, p. 52, that county, records), 
Valentine Zerbe, Grantor to John Zerbe (his son), July 10, 
1793, and July 2.^, 1793. Real and personal estate. Will 
proved July 22, 1795. Their children were Jonathan, Mich- 
ael, Peter, Mary Hillman and Elizabeth Meanser. Jonathan' 
Zerbe died about May 6, 1790, in Leacock Township; wf. 
Christina. "His estate to go to his brother Michael's wife 
on their death. Adam Miller, executor." — (W. B. Lancaster 
C. H.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 281 

Of the Zerbeys 

(Note) — There are many Zerbes in Leacock and Cocalico 
Townships, some of whose ancestors had settled early beyond 
the line that (1752) divided Berks from Lancaster. They 
had taken land there before Berks was erected and remained. 
Peter Zerbe, doubtless the Peter, son of Valentine, had 80 
acres of land surveyed, July 2, 1790; he warranted it, March 
14, 1817. — (Records, Lancaster County C. H.) 

CHRISTIAN ZERBE 

Christian^ Zerbe, (John^ the m., Lorentz^), b. November 
16, 1750; d. August 6, 1809; wf., Sophia Elizabeth, Eva Maria 
Liecken ; m. August 26, 1774; b. December 17, 1752; d. Au- 
gust II, 1818. (Little Tulpehocken cemetery tombstone.) 
Their children were : Christian, Jacob and John. The will of 
Christian Zerbe was probated February 27, 1809, with his 
sons, Jacob and Christian as executors. (Will Book, Vol. 5, 
p. 244. Berks County C. H.) (See map of Pioneer Home- 
steads for land.) Christian Zerbe lived in Tulpehocken Town- 
ship during his lifetime. 

Christian4 Zerbe, Jr., (Christian3), b. 1776; m. Catharine Deado; their 
children were: Ellas, b. June 8, 1814; Levi, b. October 18, 1815; Eneas, b. 
October 24, 1822. 

Elias5 Zerbe, (Christian-*, Jr., Christians, John2 the m., Lorentzl); 
m. Rebecca, (da. of John Zerbe and granddaughter of Christian, Sr.) 
Their children were: Sarah C, b. August 11, 1839; Annie R., b. October 
12, 1841; James E., b. April 11, 1844, Lebanon; John A., b. June 9, 1847, 
single; d. August, 1913, buried at Rehersburg; Sue E., b. May 17, 1852; 
Clara H., b. March 27, 1856. This family lived at Rehersburg, Berks 
County, but removed to Ford County, Kansas, with their six children and 
their families. Elias Zerbe and wife are buried in Kansas. Several of 
the children returned to Lebanon, Pa. 

Sarah C. Zerbe, m. Charles F. Sippel; da. Annie, b. January 17, 1866; 
Samuel Topley, 2d h.; Annie Sippel m. Wm. J. Fitzgerald; children: Wm. 
Russell, Charles Eustace. 

Annie R. Zerbe, m. Wilson H. Strickler, no children. 

James E. Zerbe m. Evaline Schriver; no children. 

Sue E. Zerbe, m. Harry B. Karch; children: Zerbe E., b. April 1, 
1884; Mary R., b. January, 1887; Irene, b. August, 1888. Clara H. Zerbe 
m. Samuel R. Gingrich, d.; children: James W., b. July 3, 1866; John, b. 
April, 1888. Annie R., b. December 15, 1889; Eva C, b. January 21, 1892. 



282 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 



James E. Zerbe, Lebanon, says: His grandfather, Christian4 is buried 
at Shiremanstown, Cumberland County, where the family had removed. 
His wife, Catharine^, a born Zerbe, and son Levi'', father of Bentonfi H. 
Zerbe are buried at Harrisburg. 

(Dr. D. W. C. Laverty, Middletown, Pa., and Anna Priscilla Erving, 
Newburgh, N. Y., are indirect descendants of Christian4 Zerbe.) 

REVOLUTIONARY WAR RECORD 

Christian Serfass, Vol. 4, p. 664; Vol 8, p. 203. Same fi-om Northamp- 
ton County, Vol. 8, 493. 

Christian Zerbe., Capt. Phillip Filbert's Co., Berks County, Vol. 6, 
p. 322. 

Both Christians were in the Revolutionary War, Part 1, the latter is 
the head of this line. 

Eni'i Zerbe, (Christian!, Christians Jr., John the m., Lorentzl); b. 
October 24, 1822; m. Lizzie, da. of Wm. H. Bradford. Their children were: 
Mary E., b. January 14, 1845; Lydia A., b. April 11, 1846; William A., b. 
August 11, 1851; James V., b. March 25, 1853; Mina A., b. April 9, 1855; 
Ida R., b. October 27, 1857; Edward M., b. March 10, 1860; Robert H., 
b. May 13, 1862; Ellen W.. b. May 13, 1864; Estelle M.. b. January 23, 
1866. 

Mary m. George Free; c: George, b. November 5, 1866; Mary E., Robert. 

Lydia m. George Drawbauch; c: Elmer, b. 1870; Cora, b. 1872; Myr- 
tle, b. 1874; William W., b. 1876; George B., b. 1878; Ralph A., b. 1880; 
Edna M., b. 1882; John B., b. 1884; Beuhla, b. 1887; Hazel, b. 1889. 

William Zerbe m. Annie Gruber; c: William, Raymond, Sophia, 
Edna, Harry. 

James V. Zerbe m. Jennie Taylor; c: Ralph, b. February 14, 1879; 
Wilson B., b. September 22, 1880; Leon R., b. January 7, 1895; Cecil L., 
b, April 1, 1899; Esther E., b. August 21, 1901; Dorothy, b. June 10, 1904; 
Emily R., b. 1908; Lawrence, b. October 27, 1911. 

Mina A. m. W. W. Winne; c; Mabel, b. 1876; Arthur, b. 1879. 

Ida R. m. John Miller, son Donald; Eidward, d. December 24, 1874. 
Robert, m. Priscilla; son Robert. 

Levi.'' Zerbe, (Christian4, Christian^!, John- the m., Lorentzl); b. Oc- 
tober, 1816; m. Mary Reber, Lebanon. Their children were: Benton H.; 
Annie P.; William K.; Lina; Marion. Annie m. John Irving; da. Dolly. 
Wilkins not heard from since close of the Civil War. Lina m. Alfred 
Morey, d. Marion m.— — 

BENTON H. ZERBE 

Benton'^ H. Zerbe, (Levi"', Christian"*, Christian-'', John^' 
the m., Lorentz^), b. in Lebanon. 1840, where he received his 
early education in the public schools. His father destined 
him for the legal profession but he disliked the close appli- 
cation to study and when but little more than fourteen years 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 283 

Of the Zerbeys 

of age he ran away from home and shipped from New York 
on a sailing vessel as shipmaster's apprentice, for the East 
Indies. 

He was shipwrecked several times and was once, with 
several companions, cast on a desert island in the South Seas, 
where they were compelled to remain for several months 
until they were, at length, picked up by a passing vessel. 
Shipping again and re-shipping on different vessels, in the 
trading lines, he sailed all over the world, meeting with the 
most thrilling experiences, with the aborigines, in distant 
parts, and encountering the severest hardships in the Simoons 
and tropical storms of the equatorial and South Sea regions 
and being given up, many times, as dead by his friends. 

After about seven years of this rigorous life, he settled 
in New Orleans, to which port he had last sailed, to and fro, 
in a fruit and cotton trading vessel, from Jamaica. Engag- 
ing in a shipping branch of the above line, he was prospering, 
when the Civil War broke out in 1861. He was conscripted 
into the Confederate army and belonged to the famous 
"Louisiana Tigers." 

Benton Zerbe's sympathies, however, were with the 
North and he permitted himself to be taken prisoner, by U. S. 
troops, at Gettysburg. He was imprisoned at Fort Mifflin, 
on the Delaware, where he took the oath of allegiance. He 
at once entered actively, with others, in the raising of the 3rd 
New Jersey Regiment of Cavalry, recruited for the U. S. 
army and was made a Captain of one of the companies, with 
which he served until the close of the war. The men of this 
regiment were known as the "New Jersey Butterflies," owing 
to their blue capes, lined with bright yellow. The service 
they performed in the War of the Rebellion is a matter of 
history. 



384 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

With the close of the Civil War, 1865, Benton Zerbe be- 
came foreign sales agent for the Armstrong and Whitney 
Firearms and War Supplies Company, of New York, and 
sailed at once for Europe. 

Already an accomplished linguist, through foreign travel, 
in coming in contact with the military heads of the different 
European governments, in pursuance of the business with 
which he was connected, it became second nature with him 
to study up the nomenclature of the countries he visited and 
thus pursue and trace up the records and history of his fam- 
ily name. 

Benton H. Zerbe married Miss Jeanette Scott, of South 
Shields, England, 1868. Two children were born them, 
Harold and Ethel. The former is an electrical engineer in 
the English Navy. W^hen last heard from both were un- 
married. Mr. Zerbe resided at New Castle, on the Tyne, 
England, where he died in 1899. 

(The author is indebted to James E. Zerbe, of Lebanon, uncle of 
Benton Zerbe, for the use of his brief and terse letters from abroad, from 
which facts have been gleaned of the history of the Zerbe family, in 
Europe, and carefully compiled.) 

JOHN ZERBE'S LAW SUIT 

John' Zerbe, the second miller, (Christian-', John- the m., 
Lorentz^), was a unique character. He lived at the old 
mill of John Zerbe the m., but built the stone mill a half 
mile down the creek now owned and operated by Jacob D. 
Sunday (Sontag). There was a small mill at this point prior 
to this date. A record in the Berks County D. B. says: 
"Jacob Zerbe and wife Catharine, together deeded the mill 
to John Zerbe, the miller, wf. Vilibina Gruber." The location 
of Christian Zerbe's land is shown upon the map of the 
Homesteads, (1723), upon another page. This land was di- 
vided between his sons, Jacob, Christian and John. 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 285 

Of the Zerbeys 

Jacob Zerbc, (Christian, John the m., Lorcntz), lived on 
a tract of land adjoining Albrecht Strauss', between John 
Zerbe, the miller's, and that of his cousin, George Peter 
Zerbe's, at Hosts. 

John* Zerbe, second miller, got into an altercation witii a 
neighbor as to who owned a certain field, the dividing line 
between their j)lantations and a law suit followed which was 
bitterly fought in the Berks County courts, and lasted fifty 
years and even now no title is given to the land which has 
been sold and resold for the taxes and in which litigation the 
different owners of the mill were drawn. John Zerbe is said 
to have lost thirteen thousand dollars through this suit and 
died a comparatively poor man as the result. Jacob Wilhelm 
and three sons sold the mill to J. D. Sunday, who enjoys a 
})rosperous business as the result of his energetic methods of 
conducting it. 

George Schaffner, son of Daniel Schaflner, who bought 
the property at Hosts from the George Peter Zerbe heirs, 
built the Cross Keys Hotel, 1844. His father the same year 
built an oil mill near where "Sharva's Run" empties into the 
Tulpchocken, between the old and new mills. 

John* Zerbe, (Christian), the second miller of North Hei- 
delberg Township, b. June 24, 1783, d. December 21, 1857, 
Wife, Susanna Philipina Gruber, da. of Albrecht and Su- 
sanna Knobb Gruber, b. September 22, 1790, d. December 24, 
1869. Both are buried in the Little Tulpehocken church cem- 
etery, one and a half miles west of Bernville. They had six- 
teen children, seven sons and six daughters, three died in in- 
fancy. Their children were : 

Andrew Zerbe, born July 23, 1807; d. April 18, 1805; wf., Susanna 
Ulrich, b. November 4, 1787; da. of Valentine Ulrich and Rosina Berger, 
of Pinegrove Township. A second record gives Andrew as married to 
Salome Staudt, b. 1809; d. 1887. He may have had two wives, or there 
may have been another Andrew. A sister, Salome Susanna Staudt, m. 
John SchaefTer. (They were the maternal grandparents of M. A. Gruber.) 

William James (Andrew), b. 1837. 



286 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 



Zerbe, Rebecca — b. November 26, 1810; m. EliasS Zerbe, son of 
Christian4, Jr. 

Zerbe, Henry— b. June 13, 1814; d. February 18, 1854; m. Maria Bittle. 

Zerbe, Sarah— b. March 31, 1816; d. October 8, 1881; m. Daniel Keller. 

Zerbe, John— b. July 24, 1819; d. October 8, 1881 ;m. Elizabeth Lengle, 

Zerbe, Daniel — m. Catharine Spangler. 

Zerbe, Mary — m. Augusta Yeager. 

Zerbe, Rachael — m. Isaac Noecker. 

Zerbe, Sophia — m. John Biddle, Friedensburg, Schuylkill County. 
Children: Isaac, Lewis, Washington, Jacob, Sarah; mopt of whom are 
settled in the Long Run Valley, Schuylkill County, Pa. Mrs. Sophia Bid- 
die, who lived with her children at Friedensburg, d., 1912, aged 82 years. 

Zerbe, Nathan — First wf., Mary Scholl; second wf., Polly Achenbach. 
Children: Leando, John, Mary, Sarah, Elmer, Edward, Morris and Nathan, 
(Christ Church). Some of these reside at Lebanon and Reading, others 
live in the West. 

Zerbe, Isaac— m. Caroline Livengood. Children: Agnes, Samuel, 
Pamilla, Isaac, Alice. Isaac Zerbe was a shoemaker by trade. He lived 
at Mt. Aetna, Berks County, where he acted as school teacher and organist 
at the Rehersburg church. He removed with his family early to the West. 
His children were: Henry Zerbe, d., a General in the Civil War, Herring, 
Ohio, resided with his niece, Mrs. Sarah Silverling, 891 Belmont Ave., 
West Philadelphia; Abraham, Red Run, Pa.; Isaac and John, Stevens, 
Pa.; William, Bowmansville, Lancaster Co.; Samuel, Swartsville, Pa. 

Zerbe, Julia — m. John Anthony; children: Amelia, Rebecca. 

Zerbe, Percival — First wife, Caroline Schriver; second, Anna Blatt. 
Children: Nathaniel, Henry, John. 

The children of Sarah and Daniel Keller were: William, Maria, 
Levi, Daniel, Henry, John, Savilla, Amelia. 

NathanielG Zerbe, wf. Annie, a born Zerbe, ( Henry j wf. Elmira Lengle; 
PercivaH, John the second miller. Christian, John2 the m., Lorentzl.), 

Rebecca Zerbe, daughter of John^, married Daniel Trout- 
man, and still lives in the house built by her father, where 
both he and his father, John^ died, and where she cared for 
them both during their last illness and from which house they 
were buried. 

Henry** Zerbe, assisted by his son Francis, is the organist 
of the Berville Reformed and Lutheran church. 

Thomas'^ J. Zerbe, (William^, Daniel^, John* the second 
miller, Christian^, John^ the m., Lorentz^). Justice of the 
Peace and school teacher. His father, William E., was a sol- 
dier in the Civil War. 

The Berks County court records show Jacob Zerbe and 
wife, grantors, to John Zerbe, May i, 1820, Heidelberg, (B. 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 387 

Of the Zerbeys 

1-50, 553.) Christian Zerbe, jjrantor, to Jacob, grantee, May 
], 1820, Power of Attorney. (Vol. i, ^^t,, 307.) This refers to 
the transfer of the land of John the miller, through Christian 
and Jacob, his sons, to his grandson, John the second miller. 
(Many of John' Zerbe's (b. June 24, 1783,) descendants 
live in Reading and others went West.) 

Daniels Zerbc, (John4); wf., Kate Spangler; children: Mai-y, Kphraim 
and James. Mary m. — — , lives in Strausstown, Berks County. Erhraim 
died at Mt. Pleasant. Son, Harry, lives at Scranton, piano tuner, has 
adult children. 

James Zerbe, b. April 19, 1837, d. January, 1915; wf., Ellen E. Miller, 
fl., b. 1840; c; Keilly, Harry. James Zerbe lived for years in Stouchsburg, 
Berks County, where he founded the cigar manufacturing business and 
was successful in it, but subsequently retired and removed to Palmyra. 

Reilly Zerbe, b. January ii, i860, (James^, DanieF\ John'', 
Christian"^, John-, Lorentz^) ; wf., Mary A. Killmer ; m. Decem- 
ber 25, 1880. Daughter Ella G. m. Joseph A. Gernert, hotel- 
keeper at Millersburg, Dau})hin County. No children. 

Reilly Zerbe, originator of the large cigar manufactory, 
Stouchsburg, Berks County, employing about seventy hands. 
He conducted a prosperous business, but has retired to pri- 
vate life. He owns a beautiful home, a pressed brick mati- 
sion with all the modern improvements, on the main street of 
the town, of which he is one of the progressive citizens. He 
is the secretary of Christ Lutheran Church. 

Harry? Zerbe (James'i); b. November, 1875; m. Annie Bentz, 1895; 
baker; lives in Scranton; c: Elsie, Mary, Joyce, James. 

NATHAN ZERBE, RAILROADER, 
GORDON, SCHUYLKILL COUNTY, PA. 

Nathan'^ Zerbe, (Nathan^), b. Februar}- 18, 1848; m. 
February 26, 1869, Wilhelmina Dunmoyer, of Lebanon 
Comity, d. Second Avf., Sarah Maurer, of Gordon. Children 
of first wife: vSarah, wife of Samuel Yarnall, Gordon, two 
children; Katie, wf. of Lester Resch, no issue, Lynwood, N. 
J. Children of second wife: Gertrude, m. John Saeger, Ash- 
land, one son. Three sons : Harry, Albert and Clyde, mar- 



288 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

ried and Luther at home, all of Gordon, Schuylkill County. 
Nathan Zerbe has been in the employ of the Reading Rail- 
way Company for forty-seven consecutive years as railroader, 
is hale and hearty and bids fair to reach the age of seventy, 
in the harness, when he will be retired as a pensioner. He 
owns a comfortable home and is highly respected in the com- 
munity. 

JOHN ZERBE, OF CUMRU TOWNSHIP 

John^ Zerbe, (John-' the m., Lorentz^), b. bet. 1735 and 
'38; wf., Catharine. He died during 1805, his will being pro- 
bated April 8, 1805. (There are no death records in the An- 
gelica church before 1850.) John Zerbe and wf. Catharine 
and brother Jonathan and sister Susanna, single, came to 
Cumru Township about 1760 and took up land about eight 
miles from Reading, on the Lancaster road, several miles 
from the Lancaster County line, on Allegheny Creek, near 
the line now dividing Cumru and Brecknock Townships. 
(It will be noted that there are three millers named, John 
Zerbe, of the second, third and fourth generations.) 

John and Jonathan Zerbe bought land in Cumru Town- 
ship, March 4, 1764 (Deed Book 7, p. 4, Berks County). 
April I, 1777, Jonathan Zerbe deeded 50 acres of land to John 
Zerbe; March 18, 1777, John and Jonathan Zerbe sold the 
land, 210 acres and allowances, to George Plankenbiller, 
(Deed B. 7, p. 5). 

-' George^ Kohl, m. Eva, da. of John Zerbe ; he kept the 
Angelica hotel and here John Zerbe and wife died. John^ 
Zerbe, a miller, built the old mill, part of which is still stand- 
ing near the addition built by George- Kohl. 

The children of John and Catharine Zerbe were : 

Eva, wf. of George Kohl; Jacob, John, David, Elizabeth, Anna Maria, 
b. January 12, 1783; Susanna Christina, b. March 25, 1776. 

The heirs are mentioned in his will. (Abstract of Berks 

County Wills, Vol. 2, 1798-1825, Gen. Soc, Phila.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 289 

Of the Zerbeys 

Letters testamentary were granted Jacob, his eldest son, 
and the wife Catharine, to whom he bequeathed "one hundred 
pounds first money and se\^en pounds, 10 S. yearly. His 
children shall account for what they have received and share 
alike. If his son John is alive or not, his share shall go to his 
children. His wife had an estate of her own." (B. 4, p. 277. 
Berks County court house, Vol. 3, p. 170.) 

(This John Zerbe witnessed the will of Anthony Schei- 
mer, of Cumru, June 29. 176S. — Penna. Historical Society, 
Abstract of Wills. Philadelphia.) 

Elizabeth Zcrbe (John^), m. Adam, son of George Gram- 
ling, March 27, 1780. (Marriages of Rev. John Walderschmirti, 
Penna. Archives, 6th series. Vol. 6, p. 255.) They had three 
children : 

Jacob, John and Sarah Gramling, and were over 14 years of age 
when letters of administration were granted to their grandfather, John 
Zerbe. 

John3 Zerbe, Revolutionary War Record, Part 1. He was one of 
the three John Zerbes from Berks County, whose record is found in the 
office of the War Department, Washington, D. C, (Part 1.) 

Z'jrbe, Jonathan, May 22, 1792, 311 acres, warranted, returned 
October 12, 1812, Caspar Reeser, patentee. Township not mentioned, 
probably Cumru. 

Zerbe, Leonard, August 1, 1793, 150 acres, returned 172, February 
12, 1795. Leonard Zerbe. 



THIRD AND FOURTH GENERATION 

JONATHAN ZERBE 

Jonathan Zerbe left for Pinegrove Township about 1777, 
where he settled but retained his membership with the An- 
gelica church, in the records of which he is noted as having 
communed in 1799 and 1804, Avith John and Catharine and 
October 16, 1803. In 1805 Catharine is on record as alone, 
John, St., dying early in that year. When John Zerbe came, 
about 1760, Allegheny church, near the dividing line of Cumru 
and Brecknock Townships, was already built, a small log 



290 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

house, erected in 1750. Among the archives is a solid pewter 
communion service that was brought from Germany by the 
first settlers, that is highly prized by the present communi- 
cants, owing to its association with the old log church. An- 
other church was erected in the '6o's and Johannes Zerbe, 
"miller," appears on the church list as being a leading con- 
tributor. Jonathan Zerbe is also noted in 1775 as a contribu- 
tor, and George Kohl and wife, Margaret, are on the list and 
arc also recorded as baptizing children, among them George 
Kohl, who took out a deed to the land and mill, March 9, 1824. 
(B.9, 2T2; B. t6, T38). 

Johnl Zerbe, Jr., (JohnS, John- the m., Lorentzi); b. 1765; wf. Barbara, 
da. of Peter Schweitzer, b. October 20, 1765; d. February 1, 1830. Children: 
1781, May 17, Jacob, d. November 16, 1862; 1790, November 30, Catharine; 

1792, July 12, David; (Sponsors, John and Catharine, grandparents); 

1793, October 11, Samuel, m. da. of Jacob Leiby; 1794, John; 179C, January 
27, Joseph; (Rev. Tiling's and Allegheny Church records.) 

John* Zerbe died about December 25, 1796; his will was 
probated January 30, 1797, and states that the widow, Bar- 
bara, da. of Peter Schweitzer, of Brecknock Township, re- 
nounced and that her brother Peter and David Zerbe were 
the administrators (D. B. 5, p. 114), and that he left five chil- 
dren under 14 years of age at the above date and five over. 

Joseph Zerbe m. Reeser. Joseph Zerbe and wife 

died before December 18, 1821, when letters of administration 
were given Jacob Zerbe, his brothers, and John Reeser. Bar- 
bara Schweitzer, widow of John* Zerbe, married Adam, son 
of George Gramling, a widower, and former husband of 
Elizabeth Zerbe, her sister-in-law. 

Samuel and Joseph-^ Zerbe (John! Zerbe), are found on record in the 
Penna. Archives, 6th series. Vol. 9, pp. 408-505-603; as soldiers from 
Cumru Township. Berks County, in the War of 1812— '14, and are on the 
pension list. 

Jacobl Zerbe, (John:!, John^ the m., Lorentzi), b. 1775; wf., Elizabeth, 
da. of Jacob Leiby. Children: 1799, September 8, Maria, sponsors, Eva 

Zerbe, Jacob Heinberger; 1800, July 17, , sponsors, Anna Maria 

Zerbe, Jacob Heinberger; 1801, November 13, Elizabeth. The above Jacob 
was confirmed 1791 (Allegheny church record). 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 391 

Of the Zerbeys 

Among the returns and assessments of Woodbury 
Township, Huntingdon County, Pa., for 1788 and 1789, oc- 
curs the name of Jacob "Sarver," father and son, (Brumbach 
Genealogy). Also in the same volume the marriage is noted 
of Jesse C. Brumbaugh to Clara "Serby," b. April 17, 1865. 

DAVID ZERBE 

David^ Zerbe. (John.!, .John^ the m., Lorentzl); b. 1767; wf., Barbara. 
Children: 1790, October 20, Daniel, sponsors, John and Catharine; 1792, 
March 14, Hannah; 179.3, October 24, John; 1795, November 2, Anna Maria; 
1799, July 16, Barbara; 1801, June 28, Samuel, sponsors, John and Catha- 
rine, grandparents; 1802, December 30, Peter; 1809, August 10, Susan, 
f Allegheny c. records). 

David* Zerbe, the above, stood sponsor, February 6. 
T788, at Trinity Lutheran church, Reading. (Records). 

David' Zerbe lived and died in Cumru Township. He 
was the treasurer of the Allegheny church, 1789, and held 
other offices of trust in that congregation at various times up 
to his death. 

John^ Zerbe, (David^), b. October 24, 1793, had sons 
William and La;!arus, who settled at Williamstown, Pa. A 
son of one of the above, John A. Zerbe, lives at Altoona, Pa. 

David-^ Zerbe, (John^, John% John-^ the m., Lorentz"^), 
b. July 12, 1792; bap., August 19, at Allegheny church, Breck- 
nock Township; his grandparents, John and Catharine, stood 
sponsors. Parents, John and Barbara. David, m. Elizabeth 
Roller, of Tulpehocken Township, May 15, 1817, (Christ 
church records). Children: 

William, 1818, October 25; Maria, 1820, August 27; Magdalena, 1821, 
November 14; Barbara, 1823, October 25; Lavina, 1825, December 18; 
Solomon, 1827, July 11; Leah, 1828, October 22; Lazarus, 1830, June 10; 
Elizabeth, 1831, August 9; Priscilla, 1832, October 23; Michael, 1834. 
May 4; Eva, 1836, March 23; Sarah Eliza, 1837, August 20; (Hetzel's 
Lutheran chui-ch, Washington Township, Schuylkill County, Pa.) 

The addresses of the above are: Magdalena, Urbana, 111.; Mrs. E. C. 
Miller, Gettysburg, Ohio; Mrs. Eva Steiger, Beansville, Ohio; Mrs. Louisa 
Haines, Urbana, Ohio; Mrs. Lavina Covill, Texaseana, Texas; Michael J., 
Centre, Ohio; Mrs. Sarah Butcher, Piqua, Ohio; Mrs. Elizabeth Farris, 
Dunkirk, Indiana. 



292 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

David"^ Zerbe settled in Pinegrove Township, 1817, where 
his children were born, removing, with others of his family, 
to Ohio, 1839. 

REV. JOHN W. ZERBE 

William'' Zerbe, (David'\ John*, John'\ John- the m.. 
Lorentz^) ; b. 1818; m. Mary Butcher, October 15, 1841; b. 
February 22, 1821, in Lancaster County. Wm. Zerbe was 
born in Pinegrove Township, removing to Ohio, 1839, and 
removing again to Howard County, Indiana, 1865. Their 
children Avere : 

Charles C, b. November, 1848; d. March 16, 1893; m. Louisa Lindley, 
b. Augu.st 3, 1853; children: John W., b. February 26, 1873; Laura, wf. 

of Hensler, b. December 11, 1874; Clara Rogers, b. March 20, 1879; 

d.; Nora Kin-, b. February 22, 1882; Maude Kendall, b. April, 1886; Ros- 
coe, b. 1891. 

Rev. John W. Zerbe is an ordained minister of the Methodist Epis- 
copal Church, of Indiana. He was stationed at Williamsburg, Ind., (1913); 
wf., Amelia May Paulus, b. December 9, 1876; children: Paul, b. Febru- 
ary 1st, 1899; Fannie, b. December 3, 1901; Donald, b. November 8, 1905; 
John, b. January 28, 1908; Mary, b. April 21, 1910. 

Jacobs Zerbe, (John4, John3, JohnS the m., Lorentzl); b. May 17, 1789; 
d. November 16, 1862; wf., Susanna; c: 1810, March 4, Catharine; 1812, 
Januai-y 21, wSarah; 1814, January 28, John; 1816, July 20, Susanna; 1818, 
September 14, Magdalena; 1821, March 26. Jacob; 1823, September 29, 
Joseph; 1826, November 3, Isaac, who died at Bowmansviile, Lancaster 
County, six miles from the Allegheny church; 1830, February 20, Samuel; 
1833, March 19, William. 

Jacob6 Zerbe, (Jacob'', Johnl, John^, John- the m., Lorentzl); b. 1821, 
March 26; wf., Cassie, or Catharine; c: 1845, April 20, Maria Anna; 
1846, September 3, Susanna; 1849, September 2, Sarah; 1853, May 7, 
Samuel and Mary, Eliza Ann (triplets); 1854, March 3, Emma Elizabeth; 
1856, May 27, Amanda; 1858, May 28, John; 1860, October 9, Louisa, m. 
Remp. (Allegheny church records.) 

Jacob^ Zerbe, (Christian'', John- the m., Lorentz^) ; b. 
May 22, 1775; d. April 26, 1831 ; first wife, Catharine Zim- 
merman; m. 1796; children: Phillip, b. 1797; Salome, b. Au- 
gust 3, 1803; Catharine, b. February 15, 1805. Second wife, 
Catharine Rudebach, b. August, 1781; d. August, i860; mar- 
ried December, 1805. Jacob Zerbe lived upon a tract of land 
on the hill five miles from Womelsdorf toward Hosts P. O., 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 293 

Of the Zerbeys 

the tract or part of it belonging to his father, Christian (see 

map). 

(Berks County Deed Book 4-9, p. 553). gives Jacob and 

wife Catharine, as grantors, to John, grantee, Heidelberg 

Township, of fifty acres of this land. This John was his 

brother, son of Christian and Elizabeth Liecken Zerbe. The 

children of Jacob Zerbe and Catharine Rudebach were : 

1806, June 27, John Adam; 1807, Justine; 1811, January 5, Augustus, 

d. February 9, 1858, m. Elizabeth ; 1813, Eliza, m. John Hagenbach, 

1 son, 1 daughter; 1817, December 26, Mary, m. J. L. Smith, da. Elizabeth, 
b. October 4, 1841; second husband, J. Dupner das. Emma, Lucy, m. Jacob 
Mack; 1822, January 7, Franklin. 

The sponsors for the above were Christian Zerbe and 
wife Catharine Deado ; and Christian Zerbe and wf. Eva, 
grandparents and uncle, respectively, of the children. (Christ 
church records). 

Annie Zerbe, daughter of Jared, son of Phillip, and wife 
of Nathaniel Zerbe, says, her grandfather was Phillip and 
great grandfather Jacob, son of Christian. (Little Tulpehock- 
en church records, and Rehersburg church records, family 
bibles and descendants.) 

Augustus'' Zerbe, (Jacob*, Christian^, John- the m.. Lor- 

entz^) ; wf. Elizabeth. Children : 

1843, April 19, Henrietta Emmaline; 1846, April 11, Regina, (Christ 
church records). They had other children: Mrs. Daniel Stambough, (Em- 
maline), Myerstown, Pa.; Isaac, d.; Harrison, d., b. February 22, 1839; 
Maria, b. August 15, 1837; Mrs. Rebecca Sheets, d.; Harriet Pfiefer, My- 
erstown, Pa. The parents of Augustus were: Jacob Zerbe and Catharine 
Rudebach. 

Maria* Rieth, (Jacob^, John- Nicholas, Leonard^ Rieth) ; 

wf. of Jacob Scheetz, son of Jacob Edward Scheetz ; wf. 

Braun. Jacob Scheetz's son, John E. Scheetz, m. Rebecca, 

da. of Augu.stus Zerbe. Mrs. Katharine S. Scheetz, Des 

Moines, la., a daughter of John E. and Rebecca Scheetz. 

Harry Zerbe, Bernville, a well-to-do horse dealer, was a son 

of Augustus Zerbe. 

(Note — The will of Jacob Zerbe was admitted to probate, 
1832. B. 7, p. 31, Berks County court house.) 



394 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

LAND OF GEORGE ADAM ZERBE 

(B. II, p. 102, Record of Deeds, Berks County): Benja- 
min Zerbe, Grantor, to George Adam Zerbe, November 19, 
1788, tract of land in Pinegrove Township, returned June 3, 
181 5. The 200 acres upon survey were surrounded by lands 
of Wm. Witman, Barr Wheeler, Conrad Lengle, Peter Zim- 
merman. The deed says : "There is upon the above tract a 
good two-story log house, a log barn and 50 acres of upland 
cleared, and four acres of meadow, a saw mill and an orchard 
planted and some of the trees are grown to considerable size. 
The family of George Adam Zerbe live at present in said 
house. 

Patent Book H, Vol. 12, p. 562, office of Internal Affairs, 
Harrisburg, also gives this warrant granted as April 25, 1815, 
and that $16.80 was paid for the return. C. W., of Penna., 
John Cochran, Sec. There is a fine draft of the place in the 
Patent Book. 

A second warrant, September 5, 1794, surveyed October 
8, to Jacob Zoll, 217 acres 95 perches, Brunswick Township, 
George y\dam Zerbe, grantor; returned April 24, 1815. 
(George Adam Zerbe is on the tax list of Pinegrove Township, 
1787.) 

John Adam and Michael, sons of George Adam Zerbe 
removed to Port Carbon about 1838; John lived and died in 
Pinegrove, May 26, 1870. John Adam was a wood sawyer 
and was boss sawyer in a mill at "Tarr's Well." 

George Adam Zerbe took out a warrant December 2, 
1784, for 300 acres of land, in Pinegrove Township, returned 
December 6, 1784, Berks County court house. 

John Adam, (George Adam) warranted 40 acres of land, 
Pinegrove Township, March 3, 1825, returned March 4, 1830. 
John, his brother, 100 acres, April 30, 1825, patented Octo- 
ber II, 1825. (Schuylkill County court house.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 295 

Of the Zerbeys 

George^ Adam Zerbe, (John^ the m., Lorentz^), b. De- 
cember 13, 1753; d. August 5, 1828; wf. EHzabeth, da. of 
Assumus Boyer; m., 1779, at the Red church below Orwigs- 
burg. They had six sons and three daughters. Husband and 
wife are buried in the first laid out cemetery in Pinegrove. 
Their children were : 

Jacob, b. April 10, 1780; Phillip, b. January 18, 1784; John, b. August 
7, 1786; Michael, b. March 21, 1791; John Adam, b. March 1, 1794; George 
A., b. January 24, 1797; Madeline, m. Clemons. Catharine, b. Feb- 
ruary 17, 1782, m. Peter Zimmerman, son of Peter Zimmerman; Eliza- 
beth, b. May 9, 1800, m. Bretz, and lived at Pinegrove; Michael, 

m. Mary Bretz. A sister and two brothers married a brother and two 
sisters. All were born in Pinegrove Township. (Family bible of George 
Adam Zerbe, in possession of his granddaughter, Mrs. Henrietta Berda- 
nier, d., aged eighty-six years, of Frackville, Schuylkill County.) 

Peter Zimmerman and wife, Catharine Zerbe, m. 1800; bap.; chil- 
dren: Johann George, July 25, 1801; Salome, bap. June 24, 1804; Catha- 
rine, bap. March 27, 1807; (Jacob's church records). 

Jacob Zerbe, m. Catharine, da. of Peter Zimmerman, 1802; a sister 
and brother married a brother and sister. 

Jacob Zerbe and wife Catharine, bap. Salomine, b. August 3, bap. August 
28, 1803. Sponsors, Peter Zimmerman and wife Catharine; Catharina, 
bap. April 14, 1804. (Jacob's church records.) 

Michael Zerbe, wf., Mary Bretz; c. : Michael, Samuel and 
Eli. Michael lived and died at Port Carbon, Schuylkill 
Covmty, where he followed the occupation of carpenter, con- 
tractor and boating. He is buried in the Lutheran cemetery. 

John' Adam Zerbe, (George" Adam) ; wf., Marie Chris- 
tina Bretz. C. : one da., d. ; Henrietta, b. 1828, d. 1915, m. An- 
thony Berdanier, master mechanic, Reading Company, Frack- 
ville ; they had seven children, three sons and four daughters. 
Elizabeth, da. of John Adam, m. Frank Berdanier. Two sis- 
ters m. brothers. Frank Berdanier lived in Mt. Carmel, 
where he died, and is buried in Port Carbon, as is also his 
wife, Elizabeth, b. 1830, d., aged 81. One son went to Cen- 
tral America and has not been heard from in twenty years. 

(Note — John Adam and Michael Zerbe owned a canal 
boat known as the "Two Brothers," when the canal ran from 
Port Carbon, Schuylkill County, to Philadelphia, and were 



296 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 



engaged in the transportation of coal until the shipping point 
was transferred farther south.) 

Jonathan Jackson, son of John Adam, m. Elizabeth 
Zimmerman. He settled at Schuylkill Haven and had six 
children, one son, Charles, and several daughters. 

Catharine, da. of John Adam, m. Wm. Krebs, d., and 
lived at Port Carbon. She had three sons and four daugh- 
ters, and died June 29, 1915, aged 81 years. 

Charles A. Zerbe, son of John Adam, b. 1842, in Port 
Carbon, where his father removed from Pinegrove, where 
the above children were born. Charles was married three 
times. First wife, Mary A. Purcell, by whom he had two 
children, Elizabeth, of Allentown, and William J. Zerbe, 
b. 1867, former president of the Lieberman Brewing Co., of 
Allentown ; wf. Emma Banner, one da., Elizabeth. Second 
wife, Emma Kinney ; third wife, Mary A. Holder. Charles 
A. Zerbey was in the Civil War. He enlisted in the 96th 
regiment, Penna. Vol., but was discharged for disability, 
when he again enlisted in Co. L, 12th N. Y. Cav., and as 
Sergeant served for the remainder of the war. Pie settled 
in Wilmington, Del. He was railway engineer in Denver, 
Col., and acted in the same capacity on the Lehigh Valley 
Railwa}^, Pa., before accepting a position as master mechanic 
and stationary engineer for the McCullough Iron Company, 
Wilmington, Del., where he remained twenty-six years, be- 
ing at present with the Wilmington electric hose and rub- 
ber company. 

July 2, 1796, George^ and John* Adam Zerbe, were 
communicants at St. John's Lutheran church, Friedens- 
burg. The building of this church began 1796. A log house 
was erected there first for the worship of the Lutheran and 
Reformed people. It was dedicated 1797. The first pastors 
were itinerants, Emanual Schultz, Hartzell, Shoemaker, and 
George Minnich (Protocol). 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 297 

Of the Zerbeys 

Mary A. Schall, d., da. of Benjamin and Christina Pott 
(Dreibelbis), said, "her mother told her that the early sett- 
lers from the Long Run Valley and in the vicinity of Potts- 
ville and Schuylkill Haven attended this church on horseback, 
as there were no roads then." 

Daniel^ Zerbe, (Samuel^, Michael^ George^ Adam, John^ 
the m., Lorentz^), a conductor on the miners' train of the 
Tamaqua branch of the Reading Railway, has held several 
different positions with that company. 

Jonathan Jackson Zerbe, son of John Adam, was a sol- 
dier in the Civil War, Co. H, 173rd Regt. Pa. Vols. 

The tombstone of John Adam Zerbe, in the Lutheran 
cemetery, Port Carbon, beside that of his wife, gives the 
date of his birth, March i, 1794; d. May 30, 1873, and says 
on it: *Tn war of 1812," Captain Hughes' company. 

Michaels Zerbe, of Port Carbon, Schuylkill County, wf. Mary Bretz. 
Children: Michael, wf., Polly Bankus, Locust Valley, da. Polly, Samuel 
L. Zerbe, wf., Lucy Sarva, East Bear Ridge, father, Peter Paul Sarva. 
Eli Zerbe m. Elizabeth Chester, no children. 

Samuel Zerbe; children: Emma, wf. of Henry Resch, Reading; 
Rose, wf. of Milton Fillmore, Phila.; Peter, twice married; first wf., 
Mary Lord; second, Kate Featherman; second wf., no c. Children of 
first wf. : Jacob, Howard, William, Peter, Lizzie, m. Wagner; Lena, m. 
Robert Ketner, Phila.; son, Howard, in charge of the Reading City water 
works, was government chemist in Panama. 

Daniel Zerbe, railroader, of Port Carbon, Schuylkill County; wf., 
Annie M. Jones; eight children, all at home. Daniel? Zerbe, (Samuel6). 

Elmira, d., da. of SamuelG, m. Albert Krebs; no children. 

Daniel F. Resch, aged thirty-four years, P. & R. railway brakeman, 
son of Henry Resch and Anna Zerbe, was killed at Reading, October 2, 
1914, leaving beside his parents the following brothers and sisters: 
Archibald, Allentown; Elmira, Henry and Laura, all of Reading, and Mrs. 
Milton Filmore, of Phila. He lived at 522 N. Tenth St. 

GEORGE ZERBE 

George^ Zerbe, (John^ the m., Lorentz^), b. September 
3, 1754; d. October 11, 1824; wf., Christina Wenrich ; b. Oc- 
tober 27, 1757; d. November 18, 1821 ; is buried at Christ 
Church (Stouchsburg). Married, June 5, 1781, his wife is 
buried at Little Tulpehocken cemetery. Their children 
were; Susanna Catharine, bap. December 10, 1781, Adam 



398 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

Leiss and Susanna Wcnrich, sponsors. Phillip, wf. Su- 
sanna; Daniel and Georg'e Jr. The latter lived near the 
North Heidelberg church and was a shoemaker by trade. 
His brother Daniel lived with him. (Others named below.) 

George-^ Zerbe was located four miles north of Womels- 
dorf, Tulpehocken Township. 

George Zerben, Revolutionary War record, Capt. Phillip 
Filbert's Co., private. — Penna. .'\rchives. 2nd Series, Vol. 6, 

pp. 32I-'22. 

Wenrich. — There were three original Wenrichs: Mathias, Balthaser 
and Francis. The children of Mathias and Christina Wenrich were: 
.John Balthaser, b. May 18, 1726; John. b. July 8, 1727; Mathias, b. 
May 1, 1729; Esther, b. July 25, 1731; John Thomas, b. September 8, 
1734; Conrad, b. February 1, 1737; Mary Magdalena, b. March 8, 1740. 
(Little Tulpehocken church records.) 

The will of John Wenrich (son of Mathias), June 27, 1793, says: 
"George Zerbe shall have the small place where he lives." (Abstract 
of Wills, Berks County, Penna. Historical Society Library.) 

(From Miscellaneous Docket 2, p. 109, the release is recorded.) 

George Zerbe, Jr., one of the sons of Christina Zerbe, daughter of 
John Wenrich and wf. of George Zerbe, late of Tulpehocken Township, 
Berks Co., deceased. 

Christina, wf. of John Gibson. 

Elizabeth Zei-be, intermarried with John4 Zerbe, (John-T George, 
George3 Peter, Martini), of Manheim Township, Blue Mountains. 

John Zerbe; Phillip Zerbe. 

Sybilla Zerbe, wf. of Daniel Class; Daniel Zerbe. 

They released to the executors of John Wenrich, Phillip Strauss 
and Paul Groff. 

TYRONE AND ALTOONA, PA., ZERBES 

Zerbe, John ; son, Jonathan, millwright ; on completion of 
his trade, in Reading, Pa., married Catharine Sheafer. Chil- 
dren : William, Jonathan, Phillip, John, Jacob, Daniel, Mich- 
ael and Elizabeth ; b. in Westmoreland County, where he set- 
tled. Three of his sons married sisters; Eve, Catharine and 
Barbara, daughters of Frederick Sheafer, of Berks County, 
who had two sons and eight daughters. Jonathan Zerbe was 
the grandfather of Mrs. Samuel Holl, d., Greensburg. Pa., 
whose husband lives at N. Industrv, O. 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 299 

Of the Zerbeys 

Zerbe, John (Jonathan) was one of the pioneer mer- 
chants, afterward one of the first office men of the Pennsyl- 
vania railway, located at Tyrone, Pa. He died 1878. 

(Note — John5 Jonathans, were sons of John4 Zerbe, Jr., of Cumru 
Twp., Berks County, d. 1796.) 

Zerbe, Prof. Farran, was of the faculty of the Philadel- 
phia High School, and president of the Numismatic Associa- 
tion of Pennsylvania. He lived at Tyrone, Altoona and 
Philadelphia. 

(Note — Prof. Farran Zerbe, of Phila., was in charge of the coin exhibit 
at the Panama Exposition, San Francisco, Cal., 1915.) 

Zerbe, John — A daughter, Mrs. Mary A. Storm, Tyrone. 
This line are Catholics, Jonathan^ having been raised in the 
McManus family (Catholics), of Reading, Pa. 

(Note — Members of the above line were written to for 
information regarding their descent, but failed to respond.) 

READING, PENNA. ZERBES 

The majority of the Zerbes who reside in the city of 
Reading, are direct descendants of John the second miller, 
who lived where Krick's Mills P. O., Berks County, is now 
located. Many of this line lived around Rehersburg and are 
buried in the cemetery near that place. 

John and Barbara Zerbe are buried in the Lutheran 
cemetery, between Rehersburg and Millersburg. They had 
four children : 

Percival, William, Reuben and Miranda. 

Percival Zerbe (John), b. 1834; wf. Sarah Clemens, both buried at 
Millersburg, Berks County; c: William, Miranda and Reuben, the two 
former deceased and buried in the Charles Evans cemetery. William met 
with an accident from the effects of which he died, aged 54 years. His 
son is Claude G. Zerbe, 536 Weiser Street; wf. Linda, one son, John. 
Claude Zerbe is in the ice business. 

Morris W. Scharff, b. June 15, 1857; wf. Amanda L., da. 
of Phillip and Maria Zerbe Pieffer; m., 1878; live in Stouchs- 
burg. He is an elder of Christ Church and a direct descend- 



300 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

ant of Conrad and Antonius Scharf, who came to Host's 
with the thirty-three families, 1723. The Scharf s were inter- 
married with the early Zerbes. 

Henry AV. Zerbe, b. February 21, 1846, in Tulpehocken 
Township; m. Sarah Ann, da. of John and Maria Wertman, 
b. Forrer, b. April 30, 1847. l^is second wf., Amelia E. Zerbe. 
Children of Henry, first wf., Mary Matilda, b. October 3, 
1877; Francis Howard, b. May 5, 1890, bap. July 6; Bernville, 
mail carrier, rural delivery, from Bernville to Cross Keys. 

Calvin Zerbe, Robesonia, (grandfather, Benneville, 
brother of Jared Zerbe and Mrs. Mary Feeg) ; wf., Kate Leiss. 
Mary Leiss, a sister, is married to an Adam Zerbe, of Tulpe- 
hocken. 

Zerbe, Daniel, 631 Gordon Street, Reading. A son lives 
in Pottsville. Pa., manager of the Peoples Investment Com- 
pany. 

John^ Zerbe, wf., Martha Keller, da. of John and Cathe- 
rine Gruber Keller, was of the John"* the second miller line, 
Heidelberg Township; (John'*, Christian', John^ the m., 
Lorentz^), b. June 20, 1799; is buried in Little Tulpehocken 
church cemetery. Wf. Martha, d., in Penn Township, 1871. 
Their children were : 

Elias, b. August 4, 1822, d. March 25, 1906; Rebecca, m. John Wag- 
ner, both d.; Catharine, m. Jeremiah Oaks, both d.; Wm. K., b. Novem- 
ber 12, 1837, lives in Reading, single; Sarah, m. Jonathan Frymoyer, d., 
she lives in Reading; Jonathan, m. Clara Moll, d.; a daughter, Henrietta, 
d. November 27, 1829. 

Elias (John) came to Reading, 1870, d. March 25, 1906; wf., Mary 
Ann Moyer, daughter of George and Catharine Gerber Moyer, both d., 
buried in Charles Evans cemetery. Children: two daughters, deceased; 
Levi M., b. December 3, 1853; James M., b. September 27, 1855; Harrison, 
b. January 9, 1859; George McClellan, b. January 25, 1864. Levi M., son 
of Elias Zerbe, m. Amelia A. Werner, May 15, 1875; three children; live 
at Reading. 

Urias Zerbe, son of John, b. February 16, 1834, d. January 6, 1907; 
m. Lavina Snyder; c: William A., John, James, Irwin, Frank, Missouri, 
Maria, Amanda. Urias and wife are buried in Charles Evans cemetery. 
William A., son of Urias, m. Missouri DeLong, October 8, 1887; has seven 
children. 

William Zerbe, Sr., and William, Jr., are both members of the Schuyl- 
kill Fire Company No. 12. The latter is in the milk business. 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 301 

Of the Zerbeys 

Henry B. Rowc came to Reading, 1847. ^^^ married Eliz- 
abeth Zerbc, b. 1844, March 24. They had two sons, William 
and Joseph. William, deceased, was Mayor of Reading. 
Joseph Z. Rowe m. Sarah Leyenburger, of Newark, N. J. ; 
they had seven children. 

(Note — It is believed that all of the Zerbc name in Read- 
ing can find their ancestry in the records, in these pages, if 
not individually specified.) 

UNCLASSIFIED ZERBES 

In searching the records of the Zerbes in the West and 
South, but one has been found whose ancestry cannot be 
traced to the early generations of Pennsylvania and Virginia, 
although there are hundreds of the family name in Tennes- 
see, Iowa, Ohio, Kansas and Missouri. 

Zerbe, F. H., Secretary of the Erie County, Ohio, Agri- 
cultural Society, Sandusky. O., son of Andrew Zerbe, b. 1836, 
in the Duchy of Nassau. 

Zerbe, John, b. 1847. President of the Penna. & Ohio Coal and Iron 
Company. Brother, b. 1849, prominent family of Cleveland, O. 

Zerbe, John K., b. November 1, 1838, in Pinegrove Township, Schuyl- 
kill County, Pa., of Sulphur Springs, 0. A sister m. John Minnich. 

Zerbee. Frank, brother Jonathan, Bellefontaine, O. The former, master 
mechanic for the "Big Four" Railway companies. 

Zerbe, Emanuel, Steelton, Pa., brother Cyrus and a daughter of Cyrus, 
Mrs. E. M. Stoncr, Middletown, Pa. 

Zerby, A. B., of 7525 Ardmore St., Swissvale, East Pittsburg, Pa., is 
a grandson of Cyrus Zerbe, d.. of Lykens, Pa. Mr. Zerby is connected 
with the Westinghouse Department of Publicity representing the Westing- 
house interests in the United States and Canada. 

Zerbe, Jerome B., coal dealer and politician; Dayton, Ohio. 

Zerbe, Han-y, railroader, Schuylkill Haven, Pa. 

Serwe, William and son, hotelkeeper, Fon du Lac, Wisconsin. 

Serfas, Lewis, farmer. Sawyer, Kewaunee Co., Wis. 

Zerbe, John, East Germantown, Ind.; das., Mrs. Eliza Winters, Rich- 
mond, Ind., and Mrs. Mary Ensley, Muncie, Ind. 

Zerbe, H. T., Toledo, Ohio. 

Zerbe, John, lived at Christ Church, Stouchsburg, Berks County, 
about 1870. He had a son John and a number of daughters and was a 
school teacher. They went West. 

Zerbe, Jonathan and William, brothers; live at Meyerstown and 
Sheridan. 

Zerbe, William C, Fredericksburg, Pa., cigar dealer. 



302 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

Zerbe, Isaac, m. Emma Stambaugh, Meyerstown, Berks County. 

Zerbe, Harrison, Avon, Pa. 

Zerby, Mrs. Agnes Stewart, widow of Prof. James G. Zerby, of 
Clearfield County, Pa., keeps a private school for girls in Germantown, 
Philadelphia. Husband, former school teacher and insurance agent. 

Zerbe, R. F., grocer, Phillipsburg, (see Lycoming and Clearfield Zer- 
be3.) 

E. E. Zerby, of Steelton, Pa., a railroader on the Penn- 
sylvania Railway, and secretary of the Odd Fellows' Lodge 
at that place, is married and has several children. The fol- 
lowing is his line: (EmanueF W., Henry^, Samuel^, John^, 
John^ John^ the m., Lorentz^) 

Samuel^ Zerbe, of Cumru Township, was in the War of 
1812, and John^ Zerbe, of the same line, was in the War of the 
Revolution. 

John^ Zerbe, b. 1794, (John*, John^, John-' the m., Lor- 
entz^), located in Blair County, Pa., from Berks County. 
He added an "e" to his name, spelling it "Zerbee." He died 
1880. 

1 Zerbee, Frank J., master mechanic, "Big Four" Railway, 
Bellefontaine, O., is of this branch, and J. Zerbee, Chestnut 
Springs, Cambria County, Pa. ; Augustus C, Roanoke, Va. ; 
Mrs. Celestine McMullen, Altoona; Mrs. Wm. Garstang, In- 
dianapolis, Ind., whose husband is superintendent of motive 
power and machinery of the "Big Four." Their son, Dr. Regi- 
nald Garstang, prominent in medical circles in Indianapolis, 
was killed from the effects of a blow received over the left eye 
while turning the crank of his automobile. The force of the 
impact resulted in hemorrhagic meningitis, from which he 
died. He was a surgeon in the Spanish American War, and a 
captain in the 159th Indiana Regiment, mobilized at Jack- 
sonville, Fla. He left a widow and two children. 

Zerbee, F. ]J, (John*^, John^, John^ John^, John^ the m., 

Lorentz^). John^ married McGuire; his direct ancestor, 

John^ was in the War of the Revolution. John^ has no record 
in the archives as having been in the War of 1812 (at the 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 303 

Of the Zerbeys 

age of 18), but his brothers, Samuel and Joseph, are so re- 
corded. 

John' Zerbe, his father dying when the children were 
small, he was raised in the McManus (Seyfert and McManus, 
iron masters) family, of Reading, who were Roman Catholics, 
and he became a Catholic. 

JACOB ZERBES, FIRST GENERATION 

Jacob Serber, Sr., and Jacob Serber, Jr., as they are 
known on the ship lists, sailed from Rotterdam, August 27. 
^JSS' Ship Elizabeth. They are given on another list (Co- 
lonial Archives) as Jacob "Soerver," aged 56; wf., Fronegh, 
(Euphrosina), 54; Jacob, Jr., or John Jacob 26; Barbara, 23, 
and Rudolph, 21 years of age. Jacob Server, Sr., b. 1677, i"^ 
supposed to have been one of the eight sons of John Sevier, 
()f Alsace, France. The mingling together of the families, 
the repetition of the family tiames among their children and 
their acting as sponsors for the children of each other at bap- 
tisms leads to this conclusion. 

(Note — Penna. Archives, 2d Series, Vol. 17, Ship Lists.) 

LOCATION OF LAND OF EARLY SETTLERS 

(See map elsewhere in this issue.) 

John Servy warrant, April 22, 1736. 

Albrecht Strouze warrant, October 7, 1736. 1737 he took up a tract 
about 1% miles north of Bernville, in Pcnn Township, and here the old 
Strouze homestead is located. 

Martin Schell warrant, June 6, 1737. 

Mathias Wagner warrant, April 22, 1736. He soon sold this tract to 
Jacob Server, aforementioned. 

Simon Schermann warrant, April 25, 1737. 

John Knoll warrant, October 14, 1736. 

Jacob Hubler warrant, August 10, 1787. 

John Riegel Avarrant, February 27, 1735. 

Wolfgang Miller warrant, October 31, 1735. 

The survey, 1737, shows a creek known as "Serby's branch." 

John Dorum lived on it at an early date, not warranted. Jacob Dun- 
dore owner about 1745. 

Albert Klotz warrant, April 1, 1737, adjoins Jacob Serban. 



304 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

Jacob Server began to occupy the Mathias Wagner warrant of April 
22, 1736, during the Fall of 1736; has been much cut up and no original 
homestead remains on it. John D. Sunday owns the northern end, about 
two-thirds, of it. 

HOST'S CHURCH 

In 1754 John Riegel gave two acres and George Kantner 
gave two acres. These four acres were given to Meyer and 
Valentine Unruh as trustees and were the first landed prop- 
erty of the congregation. 

Krick's Mill P. O., since removed. 

Original homestead on the Mathias Wagner warrant of January 12, 
1737. 

Original homestead on the Martin Stuep warrant of April 20, 1737. 
Here Christian Gruber later lived. 

Marriages — April 29, 1735, John Mattheis Wagner and Elisabeth 
Stuep, Tulpehocken; December 28, 1741, Martin Stuep and Anna Susanna 
Wallbort, Tulpehocken; June 4, 1744, John Zerbe and Catharine Stuep; 
January 26, 1742, Christian Gruber and Anna Kueningunde Stuep, Tul- 
pehocken April 15, 1745, John Frederich Stuep and Anna Barbara Karcher, 
Tulpehocken. These five were children of Martin Stuep, who arrived in 
1728. 

Survey dated January 18, 1738. 

Surveyed on June 13, 1737, to Martin Stuep. 

Patented on July 8, 1761, to Christian Gruber. 

Original homesteads of George Goodman; John Conder, later his son, 
Geo. Kantner; Hans George Tabler; John Heverling; Jacob Wilhelm; 
Valentine Unruh; Andreas Aulenbach; Little Tulpehocken Church. 

The author is indebted to John H. Sunday, of the office of the U. S. 
Treasury Department, Washington, D. C, for the description of 
the original vv^arrants. He is a son of John D. Sunday, who lives on and 
owns part of the original John Zerbe, the miller (Lorentzl) tract. 

THE JACOB ZERBES 

Jacob Soerver, Jr., m. Anna Elizabeth Spiese, da. of 
Ulrich Spiese, Atolhoe, October 8, 1754, (Stoever's Records), 
and went early to Westmoreland County. Their sons were 
Josiah, Isaac, Hiram, Jacob, Samuel and John, and several 
daughters. 

John^ Zerbe, (Jacob^, Jacob^) ; wf., ; children: John, 

Jonathan, Jacob, b. 1801 ; Mary, Elizabeth and Margaret. 
John came to Stark County, Ohio, 1810, from Westmoreland 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 305 

Of the Zerbeys 

County, Pa. ; Margaret Zerbc, da. of Jonathan, married Lewis 
Koiintze, parents of the Koiintze Bros., bankers, who run a 
chain of banks from New York to Omaha, Neb. They built 
a church in memory of their parents at Osnaburg, five miles 
from Canton, Ohio. John Zerbe died in Winchester, Tenn., 
May I, 1887. 

Jacob4 Zerbe, (JohnS, Jacobs, Jacobl), b. 1801, Westmoreland County, 
Pa. Sons, Samuel, b. April 13, 1839, d. August 31, 1909; Hiram, d., widow, 
Catharine C. Zerbe, 139 E. Lake Street, Canton, Ohio; Jacob, d., widow, 
Mary E., 1307 W. 7th Street; John and Josiah; four daughters deceased, 
and Matilda, Leonard and Emmeline Ringle, all of Canton, Ohio. 

Samuel Zerbe (Jacob^); wf., Salina; sons, Howard A., Richard A., 
Harry L., Webster J., Canton, O.; Irwin A., Alliance, O.; daughters, Mrs. 
Henry Mock, Mrs. Edward Werner, Sarah Zerbe, Canton, Ohio. 

Jacob- Soerver, who removed to Westmoreland County, 
continued to spell his name as above, which anglicized became 
"Sarvar." His sons, John and Jonathan, came to Canton, 
Ohio. John'' (John*, John", Jacob", Jacob^), was superintend- 
ent of the Canton, O., High School. Jonathan'*, brother of 
John^, w^as the father-in-law of Lewis Kountz, of Osnaburg, 
O., and the g. g. f. of Howard Zerbe, of Canton, O. 

(Note — Sarvarsville, Westmoreland County, Pa., was named for Jacob 
Sarvar, where there are many of that name.) 

There was a John Jacob Zerbe, b. in Berks County, bap. 
August 14, 1793. There is little known of this man. He is 
supposed to be the Jacob Zerbe who settled in Montgomery 
County, took up land and of whom and his descendants fre- 
quent mention is made in the transfer of lands in the Mont- 
gomery County court house records. This Jacob took the 
oath of allegiance. 

Jean Jacques Serieux, who came from Alsace, France, 
at the age of twenty-nine years, on the ship Patience, from 
Rotterdam, 1753, afterward known as John Jacob Zerbe, 
settled in New Jersey, where he lived for several years when 
he took up a tract of land about five miles from Womelsdorf. 
He is supposed to have been the Jacob who lived above the 
SchafTner tract, above Avhere the school house now stands 



3o6 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

and on the site of which or near it is a tavern, part of which 
tract was originally owned by (/leorge Peter Zerbe and later 
by the SchafTners. 

(Note — Joel Zerbe, a descendant, of Ohio, says: "His 
great grandfather Jacob came from Alsace, France, to New 
Jersey and afterward settled near Womelsdorf, where he 
died.") 

Jacob^ Zerbe, (Jean Jacques Sevier), had several sons 
(tradition says), one of whom was Jacob-, who lived on the 
above described tract of land and who had a son Phillip^. 
(This Jacob immigrated with liis son Daniel to Kansas.) 

Phillip" Zerbe, (Jacob^', Jacob^) ; b. February 14, 1793; 
d. July 17, 1872; wf., Rosina Lamb, b. April 3, 1797, d. April 
21, 1864. They baptized twelve children from 1816 to 1836. 
(Christ church records, Stouchsburg, Berks Co.) : 

December 4, 1816, Benneville; July 29, 1818, Wilhelm; January 15, 
1820, Ephraim; 1821, Joel; July 13, 1822, Edward; January 23, 1825, Pris- 
cilla; 1827, Anna Maria; December 26, 1828, Elizabeth; January 27, 1831, 
Anna Margaretta; 1832, Benjamin; 1836, Jared. 

They are variously accredited with having had others. One authority 
says sixteen, another tvi-enty-one; but no baptismal record of this addi- 
tional number has been found. He may have had two twins. There was 
a Phillip married Barbara Witman. 

Zerbe, Daniel. Wf., Catharine Adee; settled in Kansas; c: Elvina, 
wf. of John Gettler, three children: William, m. Zoriah Kauffman, five 
children; Reuben, m. Louisa Bohn, two children. Daniel is said to have 
been a brother of Phillip and son of Jacob, but his birth is not on record. 

Zerbe, Rebecca, wf. of Richard Ander.son, two children; is probably 
a sister of this man, or she may have been Rebecca Elizabeth, b. De- 
cember 26, 1828. 

Zerbe, Benneville; wf., Elizabeth Wenrich; children: Ellen, Matilda, 
Henry. 

Zerbe, Wilhelm; wf., Rebecca Witman. 

Zerbe, Ephraim; went to Indiana, d., unmarried. 

Joel Zerbe, b. in Womelsdorf ; bap. Christ church ; re- 
moved to Pinegrove, Pa., and from thence to Delaware, Ohio, 
1856. He married Annie LeVan, of Phila., whose grandfather 
was an officer in the AVar of the Revolution. She died, De- 
cember 25, 1901, in Cleveland, O. Joel Zerbe died Tififin, O., 
1899. They are survived by five sons. 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 307 

Of the Zerbeys 

Zerbe, Edward; wf., Caroline Lutz; c: Henry, wf. Amelia; two 
da's.; Monroe, wf., Elmira Gehret; four children, son Edward. 

Zerbe, Priscilla; b. January 23, 1825, (perhaps one of twins.) 

Zerbe, Anna Maria. Mary, wf. of Joseph Feeg, of Robesonia. They 
had ten children, one of them, William Feeg, operator in an underwear 
factory, has a family. 

Zerbe, Elizabeth. 

Zerbe, Anna Margaretha. 

Zerbe, Benjamin. First wife, Anna Slough; second, Tacy Slough; 
removed to Delaware, Ohio; c: Thomas C, Emma, Edward L., and Cliflford. 

Zerbe, Jared. First wf., Rebecca Rothermel; Mary Heydt, second wf.; 
c: George and others; Annie, wf. of Nathaniel Zerbe; they have two 
daughters; Lizzie, wf. of Jacob Krill, who has seven children, one da,, sin- 
gle. 

Zerbe, Matilda. The name of this woman was probably Priscilla Ma- 
tilda, the date of her birth being synonymous with that of the former; 
b. January 23, 1825; d. August 11, 1884; wf. of David Himmelberger; c: 
Sarah, wf. of Jacob Rothermel; Adam, wf., Mary Troutman, and nine other 
children of Sarah and Jacob Rothermel. 

Zerbe, Henry; wf., Sarah Wertman; c.: Calvin, wf., Kate Leiss, lives 
at Robesonia; Calvin, Mary, wife of George Zerbe, son of Jared; c: Miles, 
Minnie, Sarah, Elvin, Lester, Laura. 

Zerbe, Ellen; wf. of John Wertman; c: William, John, Mary, Matilda, 
Annie. William, wf., Ada Sprecher; c: Ruth, Henry, John, wf., Alice Font. 

Zerbe, Matilda; wf. of Henry Weaver. 

CHILDREN OF JOEL ZERBE 

JoeH Zerbe, (Phillip,^ Jacob-, Jacob^j ; b.. 1821 ; d., 1899; 
wf., Annie Le Van. Their children were : 

Zerbe, Alvin S. ; married, no children ; lives at Cleveland, 
O. Teacher of languages, Central Theological Seminary, Day- 
ton, O. ; of the faculty of Heidelberg University, Tiffin, C. and 
for some years of the faculty of Ursinus College, near Phila. 

Zerbe, John S. ; wf., Elizabeth Bailey ; their children were : 
Margaret M., Arthur ]., Laura A., Edgar L.. Grace P., Hor- 
tense, Oakland, Cal. 

John S. Zerbe, formerly of 115 Broadway, New York, of 
the firm of J. S. Zerbe & Son, mechanical and electrical engi- 
neers and patent experts, now of Oakland, Cal., where they 
are engaged in a similar business. The above named son, 
Arthur, married Stella M. Smith. He is experimenting with 
his own aeroplane and has made several aerial flights, of which 



3o8 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

and his metlunis the "Scientific American" has several times 
made favorable mention. 

Zerbe, Edgar L. ; \vf., Emma Boland, represents the New 
York Book Co., 147 Fourth Ave., New York City. 

Zerbe, Frances E. ; wf. , Marion, O. ; son Alvin, m. ; 

two children ; Fremont, Ohio. 

Zerbe, Richard L. ; wf., Letitia Bailey ; four children ; Cin- 
cinnati, O. 

John S. Zerbe is the author of a series of books for boys, 
known as the "How To Do It" books, embracing every prin- 
ciple employed in the handling" of tools and the laying out of 
the work in carpentry, electricity and mechanics. Mr. Zerbe 
has had a wide range of experience in these lines and treats his 
subjects from a practical standpoint and with profuse illus- 
trations. 

PHILLIP ZERBE A SINGER 

James Zerbe, of Palmyra, d., seventy-six years of age. a 
grandson of John Zerbe. who married Susanna Gruber, re- 
lates that when a boy of twelve years of age he went with the 
other members of his grandfather's and father Daniel's family 
to Host's church on an Easter Sunday. The church, now 
Reformed, was then worshipped in by both the Lutheran and 
Reformefl congregations alternatcl}'. Phillip Zerbe was a 
great singer and had for years occupied the position of pre- 
centor and started the hymns and chorals for the Lutherans. 
He was at this time long past sixty, but still loved to sing. 
A choir had, however, been formed in the church and Phillip 
no longer led the singing On this occasion the church was 
packed to the doors and the choir had several new tunes in 
readiness for the "Fest Tag." 

The organ started and the choir piped up and essayed 
twice to sing the new tune, but broke down, the organ 
squeaked and then all was silent. 

Old Phillip Zerbe, who occupied a pew with the old men 
in the front of the church, arose and after a little hesitation 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 309 

Of the Zerbeys 

took his old note book, with its square and oblong four notes 
then in use instead of the present octave of round and stem- 
med ones, and extracting his tuning fork from his black 
satin vest pocket took the pitch and in his high quavering 
nasal voice sang the new tune through to the end of the hymn 
with such assistance as the frightened members of the choir 
and congregation could give him. This feat for a man of 
nearly seventy years was the talk of the countryside for 
weeks. 

DESCENDANTS OF PHILLIP ZERBE, OF HETZEL'S, 

WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP, BERKS (NOW 

SCHUYLKILL COUNTY) 

Phillip^ Zerbe came to this side of the Blue Mountain, 
Pinegrove Township, Berks County, about 1760. His early 
history is largely conjectural, but he is supposed to have 
been a son of Lorentz Zerbe and born in Heidelberg Town- 
ship about 171 7, or perhaps earlier. The first record we have 
of him is when he and his brother, John Zerbe the miller, peti- 
tioned for a new county to be erected from Lancaster County, 
1738. (Penna. Archives.) 

Phillip "Serwin" surveyed (40) forty acres of land in 
Heidelberg Township, October 2, 1751 ; returned September 
18, 1772, (Berks County court house). This was the same 
Phillip that petitioned for a new county. There is no record 
of his first marriage which must have occurred about 1738. 
Daniel Rupp's history of Berks County gives him as an early 
member of Christ's Church (Stouchsburg). He is said to 
have had twelve children with his first wife, but of these only 
four have been located : Phillip^, of Hetzel's ; Jonathan, Ben- 
jamin and John, b. 1750, who married Barbara Witman, 
November 2, 1773. (Christ Church records). Phillip^ Zerbe 
is also noted on the same records as having married Su- 
sanna February 26, 1782, his second wife. 



310 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

(Note — Phillip Zerbc on list of taxables. Berks County, 
I754-) 

Of these four sons, Phillip" and Jonathan^ settled in 
Pinegrove Township. John^ is supposed to have remained 
in Rehersburg, Berks County, and Benjamin- is probably the 
man of that name who went West. 

(Note — Mrs. Lucetta Bretz, eighty-three years of age, 
remembers that her grandfather, Phillips had a brother Ben- 
jamin, who went West.) 

There were four Zerbes north of the Blue Mountain, 
from 1754 to 1760; John the miller had taken up a tract of a 
thousand acres of land, which he sold to his sons, Benjamin, 
Daniel and John Jr. ; and Phillip, his brother, and Jonathan, 
his son, of Cumru, both came later than the former. John 
the miller never lived here, nor is it positively known if John 
Jr. ever did. Jonathan, of Cumru, was the progenitor of the 
Centre County line. 

(Note — The Phillip and Daniel Zerbe, first cousins, who 
went overland from Berks County, about 1785, and settled 
near Shamokin Dam, (Delmatia), Northumberland County, 
were sons of Daniel and Benjamin Zerbe, of the Blue Moun- 
tain Hollow, Pine Grove Township.) 

March 9, 1749, Adam Klinger, deeded to Phillip Zerbe 
by original warrant (Deed Book, 12-22) a tract of land. John 
Klinger died 1768 and Adam asked for a partition. There 
were two tracts, one of one hundred acres and the other of 
forty acres, both in Heidelberg Township. George Forrer 
bought sixty-five acres of this land at the appraisement. It 
is not clear how many acres were in the Zerbe tract. It says 
in the deed, "being part of a larger tract of 89^ acres and 
allowances as granted to the said Phillip "Zerby." 

Phillip Zerbe settled in the "Blue Mountain Hollow," 
about four miles east of Pinegrove, 1760, on a tract of land 
now owned by Benjamin Loy. This land adjoins that after- 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 311 

Of the Zerbeys 

ward purchased from the state to erect upon it Hetzel's 
church. He died 1790. His son, Phillip^, bought the property, 
December 16, 1790, for the sum of fifty-five pounds in gold. 

(Translated from "Der Readinger Zeitung" of September 1, 1790: 
NOTICE — Pursuant to an order of Sale from the Orphans' Court of 
Berks County, there will be offered at public vendue on Saturday, the 
I8th of September, at the public house of Gottfried Roehrer, Tulpe- 
hocken Township, Berks County, a certain plantation and tract of land 
situated in Pine Grove Township, in said county, containing 80 acres, 
together with the usual allowances; lately the property of Philip 
Zerbe, deceased. 

For more particular information inquire of 

SUSANNA ZERBE, Administratrix. 
ADAM KALBACH, Administrator. 
August 16, 1790. 

DESCENDANTS OF PHILLIP2 ZERBE 

Phillip^ Zerbe, (Phillip^) who bought and lived on the 
old homestead adjoining Hetzel's church, was born October 
23. 1765, d. October 13, 1831. He married Christina Boyer, 

da. of Assumas Boyer, Jr., and wf. Nagle. Christina 

was a granddaughter of Heinrich Boyer and Elizabeth 
Marie Zerbe (Martin^) Boyer, of Tulpehocken. Phillip- 
Zerbe and John Linglc were granted a warrant for a tract of 
land from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, May 8, 1798, 
called "Good Intent," for twelve shillings and six pence, to 
be held in trust for the Lutheran congregation and upon 
which tract was built Hetzel's church. Phillip lived upon the 
place until his death, 1831. Christina survived him about 
ten years, living with her daughter Christina, wf. of John 
Zerbe, who lived on the old Assumas Boyer homestead, 
about four miles northeast of Pinegrove. The children of 
Phillip- and Christina Zerbe were : 

Phillip3 Zerbe; wf. Elizabeth . They owned a farm near the 

old homestead of hi.s father and grandfather. 

John, b. April 17, 1795; d. April 15, 1863; wf., Magdalena . Both 

buried at Denver, Indiana. 

Philopena, b. May 5, 1796; d. April 8, 1870; buried at Hetzel's church. 
She was unmarried and lived with her sister, Christina Zerbe. 



312 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

Catharine, married Adam Stahl, of Suedburg, who was the father 
of John and George Stahl of the same place. 

Daniel, b. December 1, 1799; d. February 17, 1874; first wf., Catharine 
Swartz; second wf., Catharine Bretzious, widow. He lived on a farm 
four miles northeast of Pinegrove at the upper end of the Union Canal 
dam. He was a sawyer and at his saw mill prepared lumber for the build- 
ing of boats for the Schuylkill Canal and furnished ties for the first 
railroad built to Pine Grove. 

Christina, b. July 10, 1801; d. January 25, 1885; married John Zerbe, 
a native of Westmoreland County, and a son of Emanuel and Barbara 
Zerbe, of Rehrersburg, Berks County. They lived four miles northeast 
of Pine Grove, on the old Assumas Boyer's homestead, and had one daugh- 
ter, Lucetta, who married George Bretz. Their children were: Mary, Ed- 
ward and Lucetta. 

Phillip^ Zerbe, wf. Elizabeth, owned and lived on a farm 

near the old homestead of Phillips and Phillip-. Children : 

Jonathan, b. in Washington Township, Schuylkill Coun- 
ty, December 31, 1819, and died at his home in Cedar County, 
Iowa, February 25, 1903. He was married to Catharine Em- 
erich, June 15, 1846, and on the day of their marriage they 
set out for Ohio. A Mechanicsville, Cedar County, news- 
paper man, says: "He came to Iowa in the Spring of 1865 
and resided in that county since." He had thirteen children, 
four boys, Henry, Jacob, Jonathan and Solomon, and nine 
girls, all of whom are living. He had ninety-six grandchil- 
dren and forty-one great grandchildren, making a total of 
one hundred and fifty direct descendants. He was eighty- 
three years of age. 

John, (PhillipS); b. Jan. 11, 1821; d. Dec. 23, 1884; married Maria Hon- 
necker; lived about three miles east of Pine Grove. He was a veteran 
of the Civil War. He was noted as the best shot at the old shooting 
matches. He had children: Caroline, 1845; Mary Ann, 1850; Emanuel, 
1852; Rebecca, 1857; Elizabeth, 1859; John, 1861; George, 1863; Reuben 
and William (twins), 1874. 

Jacob, b. February 1, 1823; m. Catharine Klick. They had one son, 
William, b. March 26, 1849. Sudden death, June 24, 1861. 

Joseph, b. September 12, 1826; d. July 17, 1895; m. Katharine Loose; 
they lived on a farm three miles cast of Pine Grove; was a plasterer by 
trade; had children, Lewis, Percival, 1854; Joseph Jr., 1855, and Frank. 

Leah, b. October 31, 1828; d. February 13, 1912; m. Daniel Herring; 
no children. 

Benneville, b. September 19, 1830; d. March 7, 1877; m, Amanda 
Royer; had one daughter, Emma. 

Kat«t ro. Sherman. 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 313 

Of the Zerbeys 

Reuben; b. July 27, 1837; m. Amanda Krick; he lives one mile east 
of Pine Grove; is a plasterer by trade. His children are: Harry, an en- 
gineer, of Allentown, and Mrs. Wash Zimmerman; Mrs. Harry ShoUen- 
berger, and Mrs. William Schwartz, all of Pine Grove. 

Levi, b. November 11, 1842; unmarried. 

CHILDREN OF PHILLIPS (PHILLIPi) 

John Zerbe (Phinip2, Phillipi), b. April 17, 1795; cl. April 
15, 1863; wf., Magdalena. Both died at Denver, Indiana, 
and are buried there. They lived on a farm three miles east 
of Pine Grove, but moved to Indiana before the Civil War. 
Their children are : 

Jonathan, b. February 17, 1817; moved to Indiana with his parents 
and removed to Mechanicsville, Iowa. Had no children. 

John, b. October 20, 1820; went West with his parents settling in 
Cedar County, Iowa, where they had the following children: Andrew J., 
Bigelow, Kan.; Carolina, Mason, Lewis and Mrs. Emanuel Roberts, all of 
South Omaha, Nebraska. 

Rosina, b. December 12, 1823; m. Jacob Zerbe, son of Peter and 
Elizabeth, a born Zerbe, of Newtown, Schuylkill County; moved to Ar- 
gos, Indiana. Children: Mrs. Eliza Rogers, Jacob Zerbe, of Argos, and 
George, Emanuel, Rosa Ann, Mrs. Susan Kerns and Peter Zerbe, all set- 
tled in Indiana. 

Katrina, b. May 17, 1825; m. Hertzog; moved West; children: 

Mary, John, George, Michael, Jackson, Frank. Walter S. Hertzog, of Glen- 
dale, Los Angeles County, Cal., is a descendant. 

Samuel, b. April 30, 1827; wf. Wolf; moved to Mechanicsville, 

Cedar County, Iowa; children: Samuel A., St. Cloud, Minn.; John G., Mrs. 
Charles Esternacht, Mrs. Dr. Russell and Mrs. Sarah Macker, all of Me- 
chanicsville, Iowa. 

Michael, b. November 8, 1828; unmarried; lives at Mechanicsville, la. 

Frank, son of a second marriage; lives in the West. 

The children of George W. Zerbe (Jacob and Rosina), of Argos, Ind., 
were: Bessie, Ruby, Bernice. He is an oculist and jeweler. 

The children of Mrs. Eliza, wf. of Eli Rogers, were: Rev. Frank T. 
Rogers, Hari-y, Clayton, Arteila, Harley and Tessie. 

DESCENDANTS OF DANIEL^ ZERBE, (PHILLIP^ 

PHILLIPi) 

Daniel'* Zerbe, Jr.; b. August i, 1824; d. January 9, 1882; 
was a great grandson of Phillip^ Zerbe, of Hetzel's ; first wf ., 
Maria Esther Gebert. They had four children : William L., 
b. 1845; Ellen, 1848, married Frank Lutz ; Mary Ann, 1850, 
married William Klopp; one d. in infancy. Second wf.. Bar- 



314 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

bara Krick, children : Henry, Alice, Daniel O., Lewis, Clara 
and Ida. l^aniel Zerbe, Jr., lived near his father's place at 
the Union Canal dam, where he kept a hotel, three miles 
northeast of Pine Grove, where he entertained many Potts- 
ville fishing parties to the "Big Dam." 

Levi, b. February 20, 1826; d. young. 

.Tared, b. April 20, 1828; wf., Lehman; lived north of Pine Grove. 

They had eighteen children. 

Louisa, b. December 19, 1830; m. Benneville Hummel. They were the 
parents of Hon. Edward Hummel, member of the Legislature, of Pine 
Grove. 

Edward, b. June 2, 1832; lived a bachelor for eighty years on the old 
homestead of his father's. 

Peter, b. March 7, 1847; an only son of second marriage; d. when 
about 32 years old. 

WILLIAM L. ZERBE. OF PINE GROVE 

William-'' Lafayette Zerbe, (Daniel^ Jr., DanieP, Phillip-, 
Phillip^) ; b. December i8, 1845. ^'^^ ^^^^ raised by his grand- 
father, Daniel Zerbe, Sr., at the "Big Dam." He married Me- 
lissa Hehn, of near Friedensburg and settled in Pine Grove, 
1874. He was a shoemaker by trade and entered the shoe 
business, in which he was engaged twenty-five years and be- 
came prosperous. He died July 15, 1905, leaving one son, Wil- 
liam E, Zerbe. 

William^ E. Zerbe, (William L.) ; b. February 15, 1868; 
wf., Lillian May Shelly. He learned the trade of cabinet 
maker and carpenter, but for twenty-one years has been en- 
gaged in the furniture and undertaking business. About nine 
years ago he added a retail lumber business to his other ven- 
tures and has been successful in all of the branches conducted 
under his management. He is a member of St. John's Luth- 
eran church, the Masonic, Odd Fellows and P. O. S. of A. 
lodges, and owns considerable property in Pine Grove, his 
home town. Mr. Zerbe, who is a self educated man and 
versatile genius, for a time pursued the study of music in his 
odd moments, he pla3xd upon all instruments and made a 
study of the theory of music, transposing the scores for some 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 315 

Of the Zerbeys 

years for the Pine Grove band, of which he was a member. 
He was an ardent collector of old coins and his knowledge 
of the eras and values of these coins made of him a numis- 
matist of no small reputation. He also studied up the Zerbe 
ancestry of the branch to which he belongs, and rendered 
valuable assistance to the author in the compilation of his 
line and its connection with others of the same name. 

The children of William and Lillian Zerbe are: Charles 
W., b. January 31, 1889; wf., Emma Lehmy. They have one 
son, Harry. Charles is engaged in the lumber business with 
his father. 

James M., b. September 7, 1891 ; wf. Ollie Hoy; one son, 
Walter; Annie M., b. March 16, 1902, at home; John S., b. 
March 16, 1902; d. May 14, 1913. James is associated with 
his father in the undertaking business. 

JONATHAN ZERBE (PHILLIPi) 

Jonathan- Zerbe, (Phillip^) ; wf., Magdalena Deppen. 
They lived on their own farm, about four miles northeast of 
Pine Grove, now owned by the Jacob Ulmer estate, of Pbtts- 
ville, Pa. He later removed to Tremont, when that town had 
only several houses and kept a hotel. He also owned large 
tracts of coal lands in the West End. He was b. November 
16, 1769, and was buried at Hetzel's church, November 22, 
1846. Rev. John Gring, of Lebanon, preached his funeral 
sermon, (Gring's records). They had the following children: 

Jonathans, b. March 12, 1795; d. May 21, 1849; wl, Rosina Gebert. 
He lived near his father's place and is buried at Clouser's church, east of 
Llewellyn. Children: Katrina, b. May 10, 1827; Solomon, b. April 20, 
1835; lived in the Hegins Valley. One of his sons lives in Tremont. 

John^ D., (Jonathan^), b. March 17, 1798; d. March 9, 
1890, aged 91 years, 11 months, 22 days; wf., Barbara 
Schroppe. They lived at Water Tank, one mile west of 
Silverton, between Tremont and Llewellyn. (This man made 
many early visits on horseback to the Centre County Zerbes.) 



3i6 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

He is buried at Clouser's Church. Their chilren were: John 
Jr., lived at same place, b. 1822, railroader; his widow and 
son Frank live on the homestead. Other children were : 

Israel and William, d.; Mrs. Mary Gehres, d., of Port Carbon; Mrs. 
Sarah Bernhardt, Mrs. Sarah Ruch, Mrs. Lena Walker, Phila., and Mrs. 
Charles Gable, eighty-eight years of age, who lives with her son Henry, 
in Hegins Township, on the main road, near Valley View. She was 
married, 1847, and had nine children: Sarah, wf. of Noah Geist, Weis- 
hample; Charles, Ashland; William, d., Phila.; Ellen, wf. of Frank 
Yoder; Daniel and Henry, Hegins; Katharine, wf. of Elias BufBngton, 
Ashland; Emma, wf. of Marcus Herb, Mt. Carmel, and Mary, wf. of 
Charles Miller, of Valley View, Hegins Township. 

(Note — Mrs. Gable contributed an interesting reminiscence on another 
page, and Mrs. Miller furnished information. Mrs. Gable has 39 grand- 
children, 36 great grandchildren, and one great, great grandchild living.) 

Elizabeth", (Jonathan-); b. 1794; d. October 27, 1849. 
She married Peter Zerbe, of Rehersburg-. They settled in 
Newtown, Zerbe P. O., 1828. 

Michaels, (Jonathans); first wf., Magdalena Bucher; second, Polly 
Tobias. Their children were: Geoi'ge, Michael and Frank, who settled 
in Michigan. He had six children with his first wife and one with the 
.second. His da., Mary, married John Zerbe, of Newtown; b., December 

10, 1825; d., July 14, 1861; Katrina, b. May 5, 1828; .John. b. August 24, 
1830. 

George Zerbe, (Michael); b. October 5, 1834; wf., Catharine Dewald, 

Pinegrove. Miss Jennie Zerbe, a I'ecent professional nurse, employed by 

the King's Daughters of Pottsville, Pa., is a granddaughter of George 
Zerbe. 

Michael Zerbe lived on his father, Jonathan's^, place, 
(Ulmer's farm), up to the time of his death, which occurred 
on a winter night when on coming home from Tremont he 
lost his bearings and stuck in a snow drift, one hundred yards 
from his own home and was frozen to death. 

Samuels, (Jonathans, Phillipl); b. September G, 1805; d. September 

11, 1872; wf., Susanna Lengle. He was a blacksmith and lived two miles 
east of Pinegrove. Children: 

William, b. about 1830; m. Eliza Kinsell; lived near his father's place; 
children: William, Kate, Susan, Harriet, Samuel, George, Elias. 

Jacob, b. January 7, 1832; m. Eebecca Wenrich; lived near his fath- 
er's place; children: Franklin, Mrs. Elias Kinsell, Mrs. Ed. Bretz, Mrs. 
Wm. Kinsell, Isaac, Jacob, and Amos Zerbe, principal of the Tremont 
schools. 

John, b. May 11, 1836; he had two daughters and two sons. 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 317 

Of the Zerbeys 

Isaac, b. about 1845; m. Louisa Umbenhower; lives at East Hanover, 
Lebanon County, Pa. One of his sons is Harry Zerbe, of Cressona, Pa., 
hotelkeeper. 

Anna, b. December 16, 1842; m. George Zuby. 

Solomon Zerbe, (son of Jonathan); b. July 12, 1813; d. of smallpox, 
January 11, 1847; m. Lucinda Boyer; they had one son, George, b. about 
1845, who now lives in Lebanon County. 

Salome, (Jonathans )■> wf. of George Daubert, who were the grand- 
paernts of Charles Daubert, living two miles northeast of Pine Grove. 

Amos^ Walter Zerbe, (Jacob*, Samuel^, Jonathan" Phil- 
lip^) ; b. August II, 1878; wf., Lillian Spancake, b. May 5, 
1879; "''•' December 31, 1905; son, Jacob Stuart, b. December 
3, 1909. Mr. Zerbe is a school teacher by profession and first 
taught at Blackwood, Schuylkill Co., from where he went to 
East Greenville, Montgomery Co., where he was supervising 
principal of schools. He occupied the same position in 
Reilly Township, Schuylkill County, and is at present princi- 
pal of the Tremont High School. He has been successful in 
his vocation and is looked upon as one of the leading educa- 
tors of the county. 

J. E. Zerbe, of x\llentown, formerly of Summit Hill, 
Schuylkill County, removed to Bloomingdale, near the for- 
mer place where he bought the White Bear Hotel and a hun- 
dred acre farm adjoining it, was a great grandson of Jonathan 
Zerbe. 

(The Zerbes of Ohio, most of their ancestors came from 
Pinegrove Township. Pa., hold their annual reunion at Piqua, 
Ohio. x\ugust I.) 

PETER ZERBE, OF NEWTOWN, ZERBE P. O. 

Peter Zerbe, the head of the Newtown Zerbes, came to 
that place in 1828, from Rehersburg, Berks County. He was 
married to Elizabeth^ Zerbe, (Jonathan-, Phillip^), about 1814. 
at Hetzel's ; several children were born at Rehersburg and 
were: Jacob, Joseph, John, Peter, Martin and Henrv^. 

Jacob, b. May 26, 1817; wf., Rosina, da. of John Zerbe. 
They moved to Walnut, Indiana. Children : Elizabeth, Jacob 
Jr., Peter, George, Emanuel, Rosina and Susan. Peter, son 



3i8 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

of Jacob and grandson of Peter, of Newtown, and wife visited 
this section, 1914. He is sixty-one years of age, having left 
Newtown with his parents when thirteen years of age. He 
and his father's family are prospering in Indiana and other 
Western States. 

Joseph, b. July 11, 1819; d. June 2, 1872; unmarried; lived at Newtown. 

John, b. October 9, 1822; wf., Maria, da. of Michael Zerbe; lived at 
Newtown. One son, Roseberry Zerbe, b. 1850, d. 1873. 

Peter, b. November 20, 1820; wf. Green; lived at Newtown; had 

two sons and several daughters; sons Aaron and Joseph of that place. 

Martin, b. October 21, 1824; he lived at Blackwood, but for many 
years kept the leading hotel at Newtown. He has several children living 
at that place, Martin, Frank and Elizabeth; one dead. 

Henry, b. January 6, 1827; was killed at a lumber landing, 
August 20, 1862. His wife was Margaret Kerschner. Henry 
and Martin together built the hotel. An iron plate, inscribed 
1 8 10, which was brought from Rehersburg, was imbedded in 
the wall. He had one son, Henry. 

Henry Zerbe (Henry, Peter) ; wf., Sarah. They had 
thirteen children born to them, several deceased ; Charles, 
Newtown ; Henry Jr., Donaldson ; Monroe, Pinegrove ; Lloyd, 
and Franklin, Newtown; Dora, wf. of Wm. Long; Sarah, wt. 
of Wm. Gauntlett, both of Pottsville ; Annie, wf. of Ralph 
Klinger, Wiconisco, and Mary, at home ; Mrs. Sarah Zerbe, 
wf. of Henry, d. March 20, 191 5. 

Henry Zerbe, or "Harry," as he is better known, is a 
prominent citizen of Newtown. He was postmaster for a 
number of years, school director and occupied many posi- 
tions of trust in his home town. He is now engaged in the 
grocery business, owns some property and is altogether an 
all around man of affairs. The town was first called Swatara, 
its proper name, but a little gathering of houses farther down 
the creek was known by the same name, then it was named 
Newtown. One day a U. S. post office representative from 
the general department called on Postmaster Zerbe and in- 
quired as to the early history of the place. He said, "there 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 319 

Of the Zerbeys 

are several Newtowns in the state, there is always a confusion. 
We will name the town Zerbe, after Peter Zerbe, the first 
settler." 

Harry Jr., one of Harry Zerbe's sons, is engaged 
in the hotel business at Donaldson. A newspaper item says, 
"Henry Zerbe is improving the water line to his hotel." 

Henry^ has a brother Oliver, who lives at Nicetown ; his 
son is a Presbyterian clergyman at Rochester, N. Y. 

Peter Zerbe, head of the Zerbe P. O. families (Newtown), 
son of Peter Zerbe, of Rehersburg, b. May 12, 1781. 

Peter^ Zerbe, (Peter*. Johannas^ and Margaretta, George^ 
Peter, Martin^), b. 1801. 

It will be noted that the Norwegian Township Zerbes 
are not of the John the miller (Lorentz^) line, although they 
intermarried several times, making their children, as in the 
case of Peter who married Elizabeth, a born Zerbe, the issue 
of the two branches. 

ZERBE RECORDS, JACOB'S CHURCH 

John Zerbe, b. September 27, 1781; d. July 17, 1853; is 
on record at Jacob's church (1780) as having communed there 
1799. A John Zerbe was confirmed there 1810. August 18, 
1799, Daniel Zerbe and wf., Anna Maria, bap. a daughter, 
Maria Catharine ; sponsors, Leonard Ried and wf., Anna 
Maria Zerbe. 

February 20, 1803, George Zerbe and wf., Catharine, bap. 
a da., Anna Catharine ; August 28, 1803, Jacob and Catharine 
Zerbe bap. a daughter, Salome ; and another daughter, Cath- 
rine, April 14. 1805. John Zerbe and wf.. Elizabeth, doubtless 
the former, stood sponsors for Margaret Bressler at baptism. 

REMINISCENCES OF OLD SETTLER 

John Zerbe, b. October 9, 1822, at Rehrersburg, Berks 
County, lived and died in Newtown, Zerbe P. O., Schuylkill 
County, January 22, 1905, aged 82 years. He was married to 



320 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

Mary, daughter of Michael and Magdalena Zerbe, of Pine 
Grove Township. The following- is a brief abstract of a his- 
tory of his life as written by himself in his later years and 
duly signed and witnessed. 

"My father, Peter Zerbe, of Newtown, after whom Zerbe 
P. O. is named, took up a tract of land in Schuylkill County, 
and in i826-'27, during the summer, with his two eldest 
sons, Jacob and Peter Jr., came over to make improvements 
on the place. On September 28th, 1828, we removed from 
Rehersburg, Berks County, to our new home. I was then six 
years old and remember well the two four-horse teams that 
brought us and our belongings to Schuylkill County. The 
teams belonged to my father's brother, Jacob, and to his 
cousin, John Zerbe. 

"We started at sunrise and reached Pine Grove at noon, 
where they fed the horses and we had dinner. Three 
miles further we reached Umbenhauer's tavern, the only 
house in seven miles, when we came to my grandfather, 
Michael Zerbe's house (my mother's father), where our par- 
ents left me and my smaller brothers, Martin and Henry, 
while they journeyed on. (This place is now Ellis Minnig's 
Hotel, Tremont). The next morning my grandmother's 
maid, Luda Lengel, brought us three little boys four miles 
east into Norwegian Township, and during that trip we saw 
only one small shanty, this was a half mile from our place. 

My father had a house ready for us, but we put in a hard 
winter. We had no near neighbors, we saw no people for 
weeks and even months. We were without school, lodge or 
church, and shoes and proper clothing were hard to obtain 
and our house was insufficient to protect us from the severe 
weather. My father worked hard, at making shingles, in 
Painter's Swamp, to support his family and while working 
here dislocated his shoulder and was laid up for weeks through 
the accident. 

"He could not work and as soon as he was able he went 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 321 

Of the Zerbeys 

to Berks County for assistance. His relatives came and 
brought flour, potatoes and other necessaries ; meat we did 
not need as my brothers could always get rabbits, venison 
and other game, but my mother told our friends she was 
afraid we would have to move back to Berks County in the 
Spring. 

"My father got better and when the weather opened, my 
father's cousin, John Zcrbe, came again and brought him a 
plow, two horses, harness and some feed for them, and sup- 
plies for us. That summer we got on our feet and it went 
better. We cleared fifteen acres and planted it all in oats, 
corn, wheat and rye and potatoes we had in plenty. We 
worked hard but prospered, as all honest men can do that 
have the will. 

"In a distance of thirteen miles, east, west, north and 
south, of Llewellyn, to the gap of the Second Mountain and 
ten miles north and south and two miles east of Pencal Ridge, 
there were living among the earliest inhabitants, Peter Starr, 
Michael Zerbe, the Clousers, Flibs, Zimmermans, Hafers, 
Bretzs. Confairs, Longs, Geberts, J. Zerbe, Housemans, Ad- 
ams, Werners and Stitsels. These were all settled on the 
road that leads to Pine Grove, from Llewellyn. Our nearest 
neighbor was Mrs. John Adams, great grandmother of John 
Sterner, who now lives on the place, and Umbenhauer's tav- 
ern was farther on. These were all the inhabitants when we 
came here in 1828. — John Zerbe." (Seal) 



TALE OF A CATAMOUNT 

Mrs. Ellen Zerbe, wf. of Charles Gable, d., eighty-three 
years old, and grandmother of Oscar Geist, of Gordon, relates 
the following among many other interesting tales: "We lived 
in the Blue Mountain Hollow, in Pinegrove Township. My 
father was Jonathan Zerbe, who reached the age of 97 years 
and had eight children (referred to elsewhere). 



322 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

"Wild animals were plentiful in the country around where 
we lived, and the children were not allowed to roam about in 
the woods. One night, when my father was away from 
home, after we had gone to bed we heard the most blood- 
curdling screams outside, like a woman crying for help and 
other frightful yells. The boys were for going out and seeing 
what the noise was about, but were not allowed to, and the 
smaller children covered their heads with the bed quilts and 
coverlets. 

"In the morning w^e found the remains of a large deer, 
his horns in his effort to escape a catamount and perhaps a 
pack of wolves, had caught in between the bars of our rail 
fence, he could not get away and he was thus devoured, only 
parts of his frame and carcass remaining. The cries of a 
catamount very much resemble those of a woman or child in 
distress. My father saved the horns and nailed them up in 
our barn." 

(Mrs. Ellen Gable, the above, fell upon the icy porch at 
the home of her son, Henry Gable, Hegins, February 7, 1915, 
and fractured her hip. She is 88 years old at this writing.) 



INDIAN STORY OF JOHN ZERBE 

John Zerbe, son of Phillips by his first wife, came to 
Pinegrove Township early and took a tract of land and clear- 
ed it. This land was afterward taken up by his stepbrother, 
Jonathan Zerbc (Phillip^) and part of it now belongs to the 
Jacob Ulmer estate, Pottsville, and is known as Ulmer's farm. 
A thrilling experience is related of this man with the Indians. 

After building his log house and planting his field in 
corn, the Indians from the Swatara Valley, who visited him 
frequently to beg, borrow and steal, came and made some 
demands upon him, which he refused. This angered them 
and they determined to have revenge. 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 323 

Of the Zerbeys 

One night he heard a cow bell in the corn field which 
signified that one of his cows was in the corn. Suspecting 
that all was not right he took a pail ostensibly to go to the 
spring for water, the path to which lay through the corn field. 
He carried his old flintlock musket behind his back and when 
nearing the sound of the cow bell, threw down the pail, took 
aim and fired, killing instantly a full blooded Indian. He 
went to the spring but there were no other Indians in sight. 
He scooped out a grave in the cornfield and buried the red 
man near where he fell. That grave can still be seen on the 
Ulmer farm and also a mound of chips near the spring 
where the Indians congregated and sat whittling their bows 
and arrows. 

One day John Zerbe and a man named Nagle, father-in- 
law of Assumas Bo^^er, went out to hunt. On their return 
John Zerbe found his wife and children murdered. The mas- 
sacre was too horrible to relate. One of the girls was terri- 
bly mutilated but still living and suffering dreadfully. The 
half-crazed father seeing she could not live, himself put an 
end to her misery by completing the work of the Indians and 
dispatching her. 

Overcome with grief, remorse and sorrow at the death 
of his loved ones, he abandoned everything and returned to 
Rehersburg, Berks County. 

Jonathan Zerbe afterward settled upon the same tract 
of land. 



CENTRE COUNTY ZERBES 

There are two different branches of Zerbes in Centre 
County. One descended from Martin^ Zerbe and the other 
from Lorentz^ brothers, (1710). 

Phillip Zerbe, of the latter line, came to Centre County 
about 1800. He was born in the Blue Mountain Hollow, 
Pinegrove Township, Berks County, and married Barbara, 



334 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

(la. of Joliu Linglc, of the same locality. He is supposed to 
have been a son of Jonathan Zerbe, of Cumru Township, 
brother of John, of Cumru, a miller, who settled on this side 
of the mountain at an early date. Shortly after their mar- 
riage they made a long and tedious journey by wagon to 
Centre County and located upon a farm between Milheim and 
Coburn, Penn Township, afterward removing to another 
tract of land in Ciregg Township. He was a linen weaver by 
trade but supported his family by farming. He was a Demo- 
crat in politics as were most of his line. 

Phillip4 Zerbe, b. about 1778, (Jonathans, JohnS the m., Lorentzl); 
d. in Gregg Township. Phillip and Barbara Zerbe had the following 
children: 

John, b. September 27, 1804; was blind for some years prior to his 
death, which occurred in Snow Shoe, Centre County. 

(Note — For the Philip and Jonathan Zerbes, of Blue Mountain Hol- 
low, see Phillipl Zerbe, of Hetzel's Church, Pinegrove Township.) 

Johann Phillip, b. March 27, 1806; d. at Pinegrove, while receiving 
treatment at Pottsville for threatened blindness. 

David, b. November 10, 1807; was blind for thirty-five years; d. in 
Gregg Township. 

(Note — Mi-s. Bretz, of Pinegrove, who wa.s a Zerbe, and is eighty 
years of age, recollected well when David Zerbe, accompanied by a half 
grown boy. came from Centre County to vi.sit his cousins in Pinegrove, 
and Mrs. Rebecca Troutman, seventy years of age, of Krick's Mills P. O., 
Berks County, da. of John (John Christian), remembers, too, when the 
Pinegrove cousins brought David, a blind man, to visit her father, John 
Zerbe.) 

Jacob, b. November 10, 1807; d. near the Loop, Potter Township, af- 
ter having been blind for twenty-five years. 

Adam, b. August 19, 1811. Weaver by trade, operated a saw mill for 
many years in Gregg Township. Removed in 1847 to Penn Township, 
Pine Creek, where he purchased eighty acres of land and lived until his 
death at nearly seventy years. He is interred in Paradise cemetery. 
Member of Evangelical church. 

Michael, b. May 7, 1814; d. in Stephenson Co., HI. 

Henry, b. October 23, 1815; d. in same county and state. 

Catharine, b. October 27, 1817; d., 1896; m. Abram Hoover, d. 

Andrew, b. March 1, 1821; living in Gregg Township. 

Phillip Zerbe was twice married; his second wf. was Hannah, da. of 
Adam and Hannah Elizabeth (Minnich) Sunday. He had nine children 
with the first wife and eight with the second, viz: 

Elizabeth, b. May 16, 1822; m. Chaiics Ripka; d. in Gregg Township. 

Mary, b. April 26, 1824; m. Harry Garver; d. in Potter Township. 

Susanna and Sarah, twins; b. August 26, 1826; Susanna m. George 
Wirt; d. in Penn Township; Sarah m. Peter Auman; d. in Gregg Township. 

Joseph, b. November 4, 1830; d. in Gregg Township. 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 325 

Of the Zerbeys 



William is a resident of Gregg Township. 

Hannah m. Peter Confer, of Millheim, Centre County. 

Amelia, d. at the age of twenty-one years. 

Adam Zerbe, (Phillip), was twice married; first wf., Susanna Swavely, 
by whom he had the following children: Henry, of Haines Township; 
Adam P.; Reuben, d., Penn Township; Julia A., m. Daniel Geary, d. in 
Penn Township. Second wf., Mrs. Catharine Confer, (Heckman.) 

Adam3 P. Zerbe, (Adam2, Phillipl); b. April 21, 1845; worked at lum- 
bering until twenty-seven years of age; m., February, 1872, in Haines 
Township, to Elizabeth Daup, da. of Joseph and Catherine Decker Daup. 
They had five children: Susan 0., Joseph A., d.; William D., Emory P., 
and Maria A. A. P. Zerbe's wife, Catharine, dying he makes his home 
with his son, Atty. W. D. Zerbe, of Bellefonte. 

DAVID L. ZERBE 

David L. Zerbe, b. Januar}^ 28, 185 1, son of Adam and 
Susan Swaveley Zerbe, teller of the bank, Millheim, Pa. He 
was educated in the Aaronsburg and Penn Hall Academies. 
Taught school for thirteen years ; married November 5, 1874, 
y\nna Mary Deininger Keen. One child, Stella E. He is one 
of the leading citizens of Millheim. Stella m. Thomas Buck, 
lives at Berwick, Pa. 

Susan D. Zerbe, d. 

Emery P., m. Sarah Bower; one child, Coburn, Penn Township. 

Mina A., m. Faust. 

William D. Zerbe, m. Isabel, daughter of Hugh and Annie Starr Tay- 
lor. They had two children: Elizabeth and William, attorney at law, 
member of the firm of "Gettig, Bower and Zerby." Some of this branch 
have changed the final "e" of the name to "y." 

A John Zerbe, b. October 19, 1812, Centre County, Pa., m. Eliza Gipe, 
1856, and located at East Germantown, Wayne Co., Indiana. He died 
October 5, 1882. 

ZERBES IN NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY 
PHILLIP ZERBE 

The Zerbes of Northumberland County are descendants 
from the men of the second and fourth generations, Phillip- 
Zerbe and Daniel* Zerbe. 

Phillip^ Zerbe. There is nothing definite known of this 
man's ancestry, but he is said to have come to the region of 
Northumberland County before its erection, 1772, and settled 
near Shamokin Dam, Lower Mahantongo and Mahanoy 



326 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

Townships, where many of the Zerbes of both branches live, 
there being about five hundred with their descendants inter- 
married, in the county and others removed to the western 
states. 

Delmatia, formerly Georgetown, on the North Central 
Railway, is eleven miles from Sunbury. The Stone Valley 
church, where many Zerbes are buried, is three miles from 
Delmatia. 

Phillip^ Zerbe was a raftsman on the Susquehanna River 
from Sunbury, then known as Shamokin, to Harrisburg^ 
and owned rafts and boats of his own. He was a large and 
powerfully built man, six feet and five inches tall, with long 
arms, big feet and hands and great muscular strength. His 
summary disposition of all disputes among the rough ele- 
ment that worked with and under him, gave him the repu- 
tation of a great athlete and fighter and few cared to arouse 
his antagonism. He was known as the "Yankee" and a tra- 
dition exists that he came from Rhode Island to Pennsylvania. 

Phillip^ Zerbe, (Phillip^), b. December 17, 1776; d. No- 
vember 19, 1857; wf., Elizabeth, b. December 12, 1779; d. 
April 14, 1837 ; both buried at Zion Stone Valley church, 
(Steinedahl), Delmatia. Their children were: Joseph, John, 
Margaret, wf. of George Bingham; Benjamin, Phillips Jr.; 
Miriam, wf. of Andrew Tschopp ; David, Peter, Elizabeth, m. 
John Lauer, died before decedent, leaving four children : 
Mary, Gabriel, Elizabeth and Peggy, minors. The estate 
valued at $1,600. Letters of administration, December 14, 
1857. Each heir, $359. T. 483, pp. 529, Northumberland 
County Court House. 

Peter^ Zerbe, (Phillip^, Phillip^), bought 100 acres of 
land from Michael Rhine for 105 pounds, March 19, 1818. R. 
C. 751-109, p. 529. Lower Mahanoy Township. Peter Zerbe 



(Note 1— The History of Northumberland County, 1891, says, in its 
"Colonial Period:" "There was a colony of New Englanders who settled, 
early, near Shamokin Dam, who were given the derisive name of "Yankee" 
and were very much disliked by the settlers^") 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 327 

Of the Zerbeys 

left Northumberland County and later Valley View, Schuyl- 
kill County, for Clarion County ; his brother David settled in 
Ohio. 

Phillip* Zerbe. Jr., (Phillips Phillip^), lived at Delmatia ; 
m. Catharine Rothermel. Their children were : Isaac, Reilly, 
Levi, Joel, Susan, m. Isaac Messner ; Elizabeth, m. John 
Seagrist. His four sons were in the Civil War and all re- 
turned home safely. Isaac-'' m. Elizabeth Reichenbach ; 2nd 
wf., Mrs. Mary A. Radle ; c. were : William, Susan, m. Aaron 
Heim; Uriah, Phillip, Adam, Aaron, Jacob, Isaac of first wife, 
Mary Emma, wf. of Charles E. Youse, of 2nd wife. 

Reilly-"' Zerbe, (Phillips Phillip-, Phillip-), hotelkeeper at 
Shamokin Dam, Lower Mahantongo Township, removed to 
Sunbury, where he established the Zerbe Hotel; m. Fietta 
Haupt, first wife; children: Milton H. ; Francis, d. ; Martha, 
m. Edward Schreiber ; second wife, Rebecca Reed ; c. : Delia, 
m. Charles Rumberger; c. of Delia Rumberger: Edward, 
Rebecca, Reilly Zerbe, soldier in the Civil War. 

John* Zerbe, (Phillip"-, Phillip^), b. Northumberland 
County, 1786; d. 1851. John* Zerbe had a son, Daniel^ b. 
May 10, 1810; d. July 2, 1851. Daniel's^ son, John^' D. Zerbe, 
of Hubley Township, Schuylkill County, b. February 14, 
1845. This John"' Zerbe lives at Sacramento, Pa. His chil- 
dren are: Frank, Allen, Harry, Sacramento; Dr. J. Irwin, 
Franklin, Pa., formerly of Polk, Venango County, Pa. Dr. 
Zerbe practised for several years in Minersville and is now 
prominent in his profession at Oil City, Pa. 

Phillip-; "the Yankee," was engaged in rafting on the 
Susquehanna River about 1762 and it is confidently believed 
that he was a son of John^ Phillip Zerbe, one of the three 
immigfrant brothers who landed in Ncav York, 1710, and who 
served in Queen Anne's War, 171 1, subsequently removing 
to Broad Bay, Maine, 1732, with a colony, where they re- 
mained until the last of them scattered, 1769. 



328 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

Phillips and Daniel^, who went north to Northumberland 
County about 1785, were sons of Benjamin and Daniel Zerbe, 
of the Blue Mountain Hollow, Pinegrove Township, Berks 
County, (John^ the m., Lorentz^) and were first cousins. 
Phillip's descendants live mainly near Sunbury and at Del- 
niatia. A Phillip went to Centre County early. 

The children of Phillip^ Zerbe, (John^ Phillip), were: 
John, Joseph, George, Phillip, Peter. 

REVOLUTIONARY WAR RECORDS 

John Servey — Northumberland County Militia, Private, Continental 
Line. Vol. 4, pp. 369, 693, 379, Penna. Archives. 

Joseph Servitz — Private, Capt. George Shriver's, 3d Co., 7th class. 
Vol. 8, p. 358, Penna. Archives, (Northumberland County.) 

George Servits — Capt. John Gragery's Co., Col. Nicholas Kerns, North- 
umberland County, April 22, 1782. Vol. 8. p. 493; Vol. 4, p. 344, Penna. 
Archives. 

(Note — It will be seen that there are two Phillips of the third and 
fourth generation. Phillip! who came with Daniel from Bei'ks, and 
Phillip3, son of Phillip2.) 

Milton^ PI. Zerbe, (Reilly^ Phillip^ Phillip^, Phillip2), 
proprietor of the Zerbe Hotel, Sunbury, established by his 
father, Reilly Zerbe; m. Martha Herrold ; c. : Thomas, Mary 
F., wf. of William Flanders. 

Levi-' Zerbe, (Phillip*. Phillip^ Phillip^), m. Polly Bitter- 
man, d. 

Joel^ Zerbe, (Phillip^ Phillipl Phillip^), m. Lizzie Glad- 
felter. 

There were many soldiers in the Civil War from the 
Phillip line and their descendants are well educated and pro- 
gressive. Charles W. Zerbe owns one of the finest farms 
along the Mahantongo Creek, run upon modern scientific 
principles and a "top-notcher." He is a school director, tax 
collector and an all around man of affairs. 

ZERBE TUFT HUNTERS 

Some years ago the Phillip Zerbe branch, of Northum- 
berland County, employed a lawyer to go to Europe, where 
it was said a fortune of 60 million dollars awaited them. He 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 329 

Of the Zerbeys 

returned and made an assessment for more funds needed to 
prosecute the claims, collected it, departed and nothing further 
was heard of him or the money. They enjoyed the joke upon 
themselves, but not as much as did the promoter of the 
scheme, who lived abroad at their expense for a year or 
more. 

Joseph* Zerbe, (Phillip^, Phillip^). His will, recorded 
February 2"^, 1862, Register's office, Northumberland County, 
(R. B. 751), gives his heirs: Anna Maria, widow; David, 
Phillip, Amanda Heckert, Elizabeth Tschopp, Catharine 
ScheafTer, John, Mary, Eva, Alburtus. The Steinedahl 
church records give Joseph Zerbe, m. to Catharine Meek as 
having had thirteen children. Their names are identical with 
those above (and if the same man, he must have had two 
wives). David, b. 1824, d. 1908, Mandata, Pa.; Phillip, b. 
1827, Malta; John, Iowa; and Peter, Illinois; all three killed 
in the Civil War. Alburtus lived in Kansas, since removed 
to Los Angeles, Cal. ; and Lydia. 

David^ Zerbe, (Joseph^ Phillips, Phillip^), b. December 
17, 1824, m. Sarah Schaeffer. Their children were: 

Wm. A., b. 1865, Pillow, Pa.; Frank, b. 1860, Trevorton, Pa.; Galen, b. 
1854, Mandata, Pa.; David. 

The Zerbes of Tower City, Lykens, Loyaltown, Malta, Sacramento, 
Shamokin and Sunbury are of this branch and descendants of Phillip.2 

William^ L. Zerbe, (Phillip^, Joseph^ Phillip^, Phillip2), 
of Tower City, plasterer and cement contractor; b. 1851, at 
Malta ; m. Caroline Huntsinger, of Valley View. Mr. Zerbe 
is a prominent and progressive citizen, having filled almost 
every office within the gift of the people of that place, being 
at present a member of Borough Council. He is a Republi- 
can and strict churchman. Their children are : 

Rufus, b. 1878; Minnie W., b. 1880; Sadie A., b. 1882; Mary, b. 1883; 
Ulysses W., b. 1886; Bessie L., b. 1888; James L., b. 1890; William, b. 
1892; Catharine, b. 1894; Riley E., b. 1897; Blanche M., b. 1899. 

WilliamG Zerbe, (Davida, Joseph^, Phillip3, Phillip2); c: Edward, 
b. 1890; Clarence, 1895; Homer, 1902; Lola, b. 1899; Mazie, b. 1906. 

Other Zerbes in Shamokin: Henry and Jonas, two brothers. 



330 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

Win. Zerbe, formerly of Wm. Penn, son of John Zerbe and Barbara 
Schropp; b. March 7, 1837, d. 1901; m. Sarah, da. of James and Elizabeth 
Hafer Manning. They had nine children; six d., Oscar, Winfield and 
Sallie living. Mrs. Zerbe is living at Catawissa, Pa. 

Oliver Zerbe, of Wiconisco, is a prominent hotel keeper 
and is known for his strict observance of the law. 

DANIEL ZERBE 

Daniel Zerbe came from Berks County to Northumber- 
land about 1785. He came overland with a train of wagons 
carrying his family, household elTects, agricultural imple- 
ments and driving his cattle. 

He settled in Steinedahl, three miles from Delmatia, and 
is buried in the Stone Valley cemetery at that place, where he 
was a prosperous farmer and lived until his death. He left 
many descendants, some of whom are settled in the western 
states and others in Lower Mahanoy Township and Sha- 
mokin. The children of Daniel Zerbe and Maria Wertz were : 

Thomas, John, Daniel, d. single; George, d., m. Phoebe Spengle; two 
c: John and Ellen; Rebecca, m. Adam Bowman and moved to Illinois; 
Catharine, m. David Schwartz and removed to Michigan; Elizabeth, m. 
Adam Alman. 

Thomas2 Zerbe, (Daniell), lived for a time in Paxton, Dauphin County. 
He married Elizabeth Gorman; c: Josiah, Thomas, Benjamin, Beaver- 
town, Snyder County; Elias, Altoona; Elizabeth, m. Henry Miller, Sha- 
mokin; Rebecca, m. George Heitzman; three daughters; Katie m. Elias 
Paul. The four sons served in the Civil War. 

ThomasS Zerbe, (Thomas-, DanieU), served two terms as commis- 
.sioner of Northumberland County; wf., Catharine Messner. Their chil- 
dren were: Russel, d.; 2 da., Kate and Ethel; John W.; James M., m.; 
no children. Joseph Henry, Charles, Catharine. 

John W. Zerbe, postmaster of Shamokin, (1912-'! 3) ; wf., 
Clara Kerkham ; c. : May ; two deceased. Mr. Zerbe was raised 
in Lower Mahanoy Township, the family removed to Sha- 
mokin, where, being a staunch Republican, he became popu- 
lar in political circles, and was appointed postmaster, serving 
until succeeded by a Democrat under the Wilson adminis- 
tration. 

Joseph Henry Zerbe, is telegraph operator at Delmatia, 
and dispatcher for the Northern Central Railway ; an active 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 33i 

Of the Zerbeys 

Republican, churchman, school director and member of many 
fraternal orders. One of Thomas Zerbe's sons served three 
years in the foreign service, Spanish-American war, and sailed 
around the world. 

An epidemic of smallpox broke out at Delmatia and 
many of the settlers died of that dread disease, among them 
a number of the Zerbes. The tombstones in the Steinedahl 
cemetery tell of these ravages by death from smallpox. 

Phillips Zerbe, (Joseph^, Phillip^, Phillip^), b. 1827; wf., 
Mary; children: William Zerbe, b. 1851, Tower City, Pa.; 
Ambrose, b. 1851 ; John, d. ; Charles, b. 1857; Frank, b. 1862, 
all born at Malta; Sarah, b. i860, Hubley Township; Phillip, 
b. 1864, d. 1901. 

Josiah3 Zerbe, (Thomas2, DanieU), was a soldier in the Civil War. 
He removed from Shamokin to Alma, Nebraska, 1911. His children were: 
Margaret, Elizabeth m. Kaechelrig; Ida m. Feece. He was gored to death 
by a blooded bull on his own ranch and is buried at Alma. He was twice 
married, the second wife, Mrs. Reed, d. September, 1915, aged 81. 

DANIEL ZERBE AN ATHLETE 

A story told of Daniel Zerbe says that he was nearly 
seven feet tall and a very large man. In the fall, after har- 
vest was over, it was customary to hold shooting and athletic 
matches at which the best men in the country districts were 
pitted against each other. On one occasion a wrestling match 
was set to come off at Shamokin Dam and Daniel, who was 
famous in that art, was to have a set-oft' with two athletes 
from Berks County. The parties arrived at night and were 
assigned to a room at the hotel in which there were several 
beds, in one of which Daniel Zerbe was already sleeping. In 
the morning he arose first and the two other men peeping 
from under their cover-lids and only half awake, saw this 
Goliath in stature as he slowly unfolded his large lank form 
and dressed for his breakfast and the coming affray. One 
glance was sufficient, they dressed and cautiously stole from 
the house and disappeared toward Berks County. There was 
no fight that day. 



332 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

ZERBE VALLEY RAILWAY AND ZERBE GAP 

Zerbe Run empties into the Susquehanna River near 
Trevorton. Zerbe Cap was united by this Run and a short 
canal and railroad with the Susquehanna River to facilitate 
the shipment of coal. Zerbe Township. Northumberland 
County, was erected by Act of Leg-islature, March ii, 1853. 
from lines between Coal, Cameron and Shamokin Townships. 
Zerbe Run is a branch of the Little Mahanoy River. The 
Zerbe Run and Shamokin Improvement Company was in- 
corporated February 25, 1850. Trevorton is at the juncture 
where Zerbe Run empties into the Susquehanna River. The 
Zerbe Valley Railway is fifteen miles long-. It was incor- 
porated September 7, 1867. to purchase the railroad franchises 
of the Trevorton Coal and Railway Company. It was sold 
by the Sheriff. y\ugust 3, 1867. The Zerbe Valley Railway 
was merged into the Mahanoy and Shamokin Railway, July 
7, 1870, and the latter road was merged into the Reading 
Railway, March 25, 1871. (Northumberland County History, 
p. 'J']']. Annals of Northumberland County, pp. 489-685.) 

(Note— There is a Zerbe P. 0. in Centre County, Pennsylvania, and 
also one in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania.) 

The principal stream of Zerbe Township is Zerbe Run. 
The surface is mountainous with no farming land whatever, 
for which its rich mineral resources amply compensate. The 
existence of coal at Zerbe's Gap (Trevorton) was known as 
early as 1827, when a company was formed for the construc- 
tion of a canal, railway or slackwater from the Susquehanna 
River to the coal mines at the Gap. The most extensive vein 
of coal, fifty feet thick, was discovered on the Zerbe Run, a 
branch of the Little Mahanoy Creek. Trevorton was laid 
otit in 1850, when an improvement company was formed, 
whose operations extended from Trevorton (Zerbe Gap) to 
Moimt Carmel. Over one million dollars was expended and 
an immense breaker with a capacity daily of one thousand 
tons was erected — (Northumberland County History, 1891.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 333 

Of the Zerbeys 

CHURCH RECORDS 
Early Marriages, German Reformed Church, Philadelphia. 

(Penna. Archives, Second Series, Vol. 8.) 
1767, March 24, Zerben Wenden and Catharine Bacon. 
1778, May 12, Serbcn Gosteph and Elizabeth Frehn. Reformed Church, 
Falckner's Swamp. 

1792, November 4, Zerben Wendel and Phillipina Zerben. 
1792, September 8, Zerben Catharine and Arrant Braun. 
These were by Pennsylvania licenses, as above. 

Marriages of Rev. John Walderschmidt 

(Archives 6, Vol. (5, p. 255.) 

Servie Elizabeth, daughter of .Johannes Servie and Adam Gramling, 
March 28, 1780. 

Swede's Church, Philadelphia 

1781, November 18, Zarben David and Anne Din^vvall. 

1777, March 2, Carby .Josiah and Margaret Child. 

The above were licensed by State. (2nd Series. Archives, Vol. 2.) 

1745, November 18, Sarva Nicholas, m. Elizabeth Kloppen. (Moravian 
records, Lititz. ) 

1754, November 11, Zerfass Frederick m. Margaret Fadin, New Han- 
over, Pa., Rev. Frederick Schultz. 

1761, March 12, Zieber Rebecca, da. of Johannes Zieber; bap. in church. 
(Trappe church records.) 

The register of marriages begins 1760 when the date of licenses to the 
ministers begins. (2nd Series, Penna. Archives, 2nd Vol.) Those of Pro- 
prietary Pennsylvania, from the time the colonial laws were made, are lost. 
There are four volumes of these records in existence. The practice was 
discontinued, 1790. 

Rev. John Caspar Stoever's Records 

Baptisms : 

1743, February 20; parent, Christian Gruber; child, John George; 
sponsor, Heinrich Gruber. 

1749, January 8; parents, Christian Gruber; child, Maria Caterina; 
sponsors, John Zerwe and wife Caterina. 

1738, January 2; parents, Peter Muench and wife; child, John Michael, 

B. 1752, December 22; bap., 1753, January 14; parents, John Phillip 

Strauss, wf. ; child, Maria Caterina; sponsors, Johannes, Caterina 

Zerwe. 

B. 1753, February 19; bap., 1753, March 11; parents, Daniel Schneider, 
wf. ; child, ^laria Caterina; sponsors, .Johannes, Caterina Zerwe. 

B. February 14, 1753; bap., March 11, 1753; parents, Caspar Yost and 
wf., Swatara; child, Maria Caterina; sponsors, Johannes, Caterina Zerbe. 



334 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 



B. September 15, 1758; bap., September 17, 1758; parents, Mathias 
Wagner and wf., Northkill; child, Anna Caterina; sponsors, Johannes, 
Caterina Zerwe. 

Marriages: 

1730, May 31, Heinrich Bayer (Boyer) to Elizabeth Maria Zerbe. 

1738, April 4, George Meyer to Barbara Zerbe, Tulpehocken. 

1746, December 22, Valentine Von Huss to Maria Barbara Zerwe, Tul- 
pehocken. 

1741, October 13, Englehart Flohry to Elizabeth Zerwe, Tulpehocken. 

1746, December 22, John George Meyer to Catharine Zerwe, Tulpe- 
hocken. 

1748, October 31, Joseph Roth to Maria Margaretha Zerbe, Tulpe- 
hocken. 

1754, October 8, Jacob Zerbe, Jr., and Anna Elizabeth Spiese, Atolhoe. 

1738, December 16, Samuel Swaller and Margaretha Kroh, Conestoga. 

1743, June 4, John Zerwe and Caterina Stupp, Tulpehocken. 

1767, August 4, Samuel Zerfass and Sabina Baltz, Cocalico Township. 

Many of Stoever's records are found throughout the book that are 
not included in the above. 

Records of John Caspar Stoever from 1730 to 1779, translated by Rev. 
J. F. Schantz. The originals are in the possession of W. C. Stoever, 
Theological Seminary, Mt. Airy, Philadelphia, Prof. Luther Reed. 

Trinity Lutheran Church, Reading 

1768, December 20, Leonard Rieth, son of George Rieth, of the Tul- 
pehocken, to Anna Maria Zerbe, of Tulpehocken, Rev. J. A. Krug. 

1805, January 29, John Zerbe, of Manheim Township, to Elizabeth 
Kronberger, widow, of Bern Township, Rev. H. A. Muhlenberg. 

1804, June 4, Jacob Zerbe to Catharine Rudebach, both of Reading, 
(Womelsdorf.) 

Tombstones, Northkill Cemetery, near Bernville 

Conrad Reber, b. 1778; d. 1817. 
Valentine Reber, b. 1742; d. 1818. 
Albrecht Strauss, b. 1760; d. 1832. 
Christian Gruber, b. 1712. 

Many members of the Filbert, Rieth, Reber and Miller families are 
buried here. 

Rehersburg Church Records 

1776, March 25, John Zerbe and wf. Catharine, bap. da., Christina 
Susanna; sponsor, Susanna Zerbe, single. 

1783, January 12, John Zerbe and wf. Catharine, bap. da., Anna Maria. 

1766, May 2, John Zerbe and wf. Catharine bap. son, Andreas. 

1788, June 6, Peter and Elizabeth Schlaseman Zerbe bap. son, Peter. 

1783 November 30, John Zerbe and wf. Mary Margaret bap. da. 
Elizabeth. 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 335 

Of the Zerbeys 

Zions, Lutheran and Reformed Church, Womelsdorf, Pa. 

1803, June 20, Benjamin Zcrbc and wf. Anna Margaret, bap. son, 
Samuel. 

1811, July ?,. Emanuel Zerbe and wf. Mary, bap. da. Maria. 

1811, November 18, John Zerbc and wf. Maria bap. da. Anna Maria. 

1867, July 20, Percival Zerbe. Jefferson, m. Catharine Elizabeth Blatt. 

1869, December 18. Israel F. Zerbe, Jefferson Twp., m. Priscilla H. 
Barr. 

1871, .March 21, Jared L. Zerbe, Jefferson Township, m. Mary Ann Heil. 
1874, September 19, Samuel N. Zerbe, Winterville, m. Leah Battdorf. 
1878, April 6, Daniel H. Zerbe, Bethel Township, m. Adaline Stupp. 

1872, June 8, Cyrus F. Zerbe, Womelsdorf, m. Nettie Hilbert, Mill 
Creek, Lebanon County. 

1826, January 12, b. John Zerbe, of Strausstown; d. September 28, 1882. 
1874, May 23, Ephraim L. Hennc m. Kate Zerbe Strauss. 

Baptismal Records 

Parents, Henry and Eliza Zerbe, da. Eliza, b. October 27, 1828; sponsor, 
Eliza Fidler. 

Parents, Samuel and Catharine Zerbe; da. Catharine; b. January 20, 
1826. 

Tombstone Record 

Salome Schock, wife of Andrew Zerbe, b. April 17, 1814; died August 
5, 1890. Union cemetery. 

Tulpehocken Church, Tombstone Records 
(Above Stouchsburg) 

Michael Zerbe, born July 9, 1777, died November 12, 1841. Wife, 
Elizabetli, born February 21, 1780; died. May 4, 1840. 

Christina Zerbe, born September 25, 1780; died September 9, 1854; 
daughter of Leonard and Barbara Zerbe. 

Inscriptions From Tombstones. BHie Mountain Church, 

Strausstown 

John Zerbc, born August 12, 1766; died January 31, 1830. Wife, Maria 
Barbara Walmer, born July 16, 1772; died July 14, 18.54. 

Susanna Zerbe, born August 12. 1796; died April 12, 1819; married 
Jonathan Ranch. 

John Zerbe, born February 3, 1798; died February 8, 1868; wife, 
Christina Manbeck, born April 5, 1795; died April 15, 1867. 

Catharine Zerbe, born November 22, 1799; died November 10, 1864; 
married John Strauss. 

Some of the above were settlers in Pinegrove Township. 



336 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

Little Tulpehocken Church Records 

1828, December 20, Johannes Zerbe m. Elizabeth Anhalt (Christ 
church). He was a son of John and Magdalena Zerbe. They bap. seven 
children until 1847. 

1812, March 25, Elizabeth, wf. of John Zerbe, d. 1871, April 9. 

1791, February 10, Daniel and Anna Maria Zerbe, bap. da. Salome. 

1793, August 2, Daniel and Anna Maria Zerbe, bap. son Joseph. 

1798, August 8, Emanuel and Barbara Zerbe, bap. son John. 

Taxables in Tulpehocken Township, i8io 

Michael Zerbe, Christian Zerbe, Christian Jr. Zerbe, Emanus Zerben, 
John Zerben, John, son of Christian Zerbe; Jacob Zerben, Peter Zerbe, 
Leonard Zerbe, Leonard Zerbe, Jr., Peter Zerbe. 

The above are of the same name, some using the German spelling. 

Records of Christ Lutheran Church, Stouchsburg, Marion 
Township, Berks County 

(Translated from the German) 

The following is a list of the Zerbes in the above church 
records, built 1744, and for the erection of which George Peter 
Zerbe signed the call with three others of the family ; John 
Jacob, Mrs. Martin Zerbe and John Zerbe were among its 
earliest members. 

Baptisms : — 

Parents George Peter Zerbe and Christina Loucks; children, Johannes, 
1745; Anna Maria, April 23, 1747; Maria, 1750. 

Parents, Peter Zerben and Elizabeth Loucks. Child, Elizabeth, July 
22, 1771. Sponsors, Johannes and Maria Margaret Zerbe. 

Parents, Johannes and Maria Margaret Zerbe. Children, Johannes, 
February 3, 1772; John George, May 4, 1773; Peter, May 12, 1781. Spon- 
sors, George Peter and Christina Zerbe. 

Parents, Michael and Anne Maria Donmier Zerben. Children, Mich- 
ael, July 5, 1777; Salome, March 12, 1779; Anna Marie, February 6, 1781; 
Elizabeth, August 28, 1782; Barbara, September 29, 1791; Eva, September 
20, 1794; Johannes, February 24, 1796; Anna Margaret, February 7, 1800. 
Sponsors, George and Elizabeth Wolf, Caspar and Salome Batteicher, 
John George and Barbara Sponchuchen Zerbe, Benjamin and Elizabeth 
Zerbe, parents for last three. 

Parents, Leonard Zerbe and Barbara Lengle. Children, John Jacob, 
October 25, 1786; Elizabeth, April 17, 1793; Margaret Susan, October 3, 
1795; Daniel, August 15, 1800; Elizabeth, May 11, 1806; Benjamin, 1815; 
Jacob, 1816. Sponsors, Susan Zerben, Daniel Rieth, Frederic and Cath- 
arine Weis. 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 337 

Of the Zerbeys 

Parents, Phillip Zerben and Chi'istina. Child, Catharine, April 19, 
1798. Sponsors, Peter and Catharine Hitzel. 

Parents, Andrew Zerbe and Maria Magdalena. Child, Mary Magdalena, 
May 20, 1798. 

Parents, Michael Zerbe and Elizabeth Schafer. Children, .Johannes, 
December 3, 1801; John Jacob, September 24, 1802; Jonathan, 1811; Mag- 

delena, 1813; Lydia, 1814; Michael, December 30, 1817; E , January 31, 

1819. Sponsors, Michael and Anna Maria Donmeier Zerbe, John Jacob 
and Elizabeth Schafer. 

(Note — In most instances the grandparents stood as sponsors for 
the first child and their names frequently decide the relationship.) 

Parents, Johannes Zerben and Margaret. Children, Anna Maria, De- 
cember 20, 1802; Margaret, January 3, 1804; Johannes, 1805. Sponsors, 
Christian Zei-be, Peter Peiffer, Leonard Zerbe. 

Parents, Hermanns Zerbe and Maria Rieth. Children, Heinrich, June 
11, 1804; Samuel, December 1, 1802; Elizabeth, February 20, 1806. Spon- 
sors, John Jacob and Eva Rieth. 

Parents, Abraham and Catharine Zerbe. Child, Anna Maria, Novem- 
ber, 1804. Sponsors, John and Sophia Miller. 

Parents, John Jacob Zerben and Catharine. Children, John Adam, 

June 27, 1806; Justina, 1807; Eliza, 1813; , December 26, 1817; 

Franklin, January 7, 1822. Sponsors, Christian and Eva Zerben, Christian 
and Catherine Zerben. 

Parents, John Zerben and Susanna Miller. Children, Andreas, July 

28, 1807; Sarah, May 31, 1816; , January 3, 1819. Sponsors, Christian 

and Catherine Zerbe, Michael and Catherine Miller. 

Parents, Christian and Catharine Zerbe. Child, Elias, 1814. Sponsors, 
David and Elizabeth Zerbe. 

Parents, Johannes Zerbe and Elizabeth. Children, Levi, October 10, 
1816; Heinrich. July 13, 1814; Rebecca, January 20, 1830; Levantina, July 
2, 1831; Carolina, March 24, 1834; John Jacob, 1838; Elizabeth, 1844; 
Eva, 1847. Sponsors, Jacob and Catherine Zerbe, Johannes and Magda- 
lena Zerbe, Magdalena Zerbe, Maria Zerbe. 

Parents, Phillip Zerbe and Rosina Lamb. Children, Benneville, De- 
cember 4, 1816; Wilhelm, July 20. 1818; Ephraim, January 15, 1820; Joel, 
1821; Edward. July 13. 1822; Priscilla, January 25, 1825; Anna Maria, 
1827; Elizabeth. December 26, 1828; Anna Margretta, January 27, 1831; 
Benjamin, 1832; Jared, 1836. Sponsors, John and Elizabeth Witman, 
Johannes and Magdelena Zerbe. 

Parents, John and Magdelena Zerbe. Children, Elizabeth, August 4, 
1822; Maria, 1824; Rebecca, 1827; Henrietta, December 4, 1828. Sponsors, 
Daniel and Catharine Zerbe, Phillip and Rosina Zerbe. 

Parents, Johannes Zerbe and Rosina. Child, Johanna, 1832. 

Parents, Jacob Zerbe and Sarah. Child, Melinda, November 22, 1837. 
Sponsors, Michael and Elizabeth Zerbe. 

Parents, Andrew Zerbe and Salome. Child, William James, 1837. 

Parents, Elias Zerbe and . Children, Diana, 1842; Jacob, April 

11, 1844. 



338 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 

Parents, Augustus and Elizabeth Zerbe. Children, Henrietta, April 
10, 1843; Regina, April 11, 1846. 

Parents. Michael and Elizabeth Zerbe. Child, Emmeline, November 
14, 1848. 

Parents, Jacob Zerbe and Catharine. Child, William, August 8, 1850. 

Marriage Records of Christ Lutheran Church, Stouchsburg, 

Pennsylvania 

April 2, 177], Johannes Zerbe and Maria Margret Angst; son of 
George Peter Zerbe. 

June 4, 1776, Michael Zerbe and Anna Maria Donmier; son of George 
Peter Zerbe 

June 23, 1778, John George Zerbe and Barbara Sponchuchen; son of 
George Peter Zerbe. 

June 5, 1781, George Zerbe and Christina Wenrich; son of John Zerbe. 
November 2, 1773. Johannes Zerbe and Barbara Witman; son of Phil- 
lip Zerbe. 

June 3, 1773, Christian Zerbe and Maria Christina Strauss; son of 
Johannes Zerbe. 

September 18, 1781, Benjamin Zerbe and Anne Margaret Wertz; son 
of Benjamin Zerbe 

May 1, 1795, Jonathan Zerbe and Margaret Weiser; son of Valentine 
Zerbe. 

February 26, 1782, Phillip Zerbe and Susanna, (Phillip of Hetzel's.) 

July 30, 1782. Peter Zerbe and Elizabeth. 

March 3, 1789, Gottfried Zerbe and Appolonia Michael. 

September 1, 1790, Daniel Zerbe and Rohnin. 

September 1, 1790, Jonathan Zerbe and Maria Catharine Scheafer. 

May 12, 1799, Hermanns Zerbe and Maria Rieth. 

December 1, 1799, John George Zerbe and Susanna Miller. 

May 24, 1799, Michael Zerbe and Elizabeth Weil. 

March 6, 1801, John Zerbe and Margaret Weigand. 

March 19, 1805, Leonard Zerbe and Susy Scharff. 

March 17, 1816, William Zerbe and Rosina Lamb. 

May 15, 1817, David Zerbe and Elizabeth Roller. 

June 19, 1817, Heinrich Zerbe and Elizabeth . 

April 22, 1821, Johannes Zerbe and Christina Manbeck. 

September 2, 1821, Johannes Zerbe and Martha Keller. 

December 20, 1828, Johannes Zerbe and Elizabeth Anhalt. 

February 18, 1834, Jacob Zerbe and Sarah SchoU. 

Dec. 31, 1836. Andrev/ Zerbe and Salome Stout. 

October 31, 1846, Franklin Zerbe and Elizabeth HefFeltingcr. 

May 18, 1847, William Zerbe and Regina Witman. 

November 4, 1854, Reuben Zerbe and Tillie PfeiflFer, Bethel Township. 

May 25, 1856, Nathan Zerbe and Mary Scholl, Tulpehocken Township. 

February 17, 1857, Solomon G. C. Zerbe and Mary Casia Harner. 

June 2, 1860, Levi Zerbe and Catharine Haag. 

August 28, 1862, Isaac Zerbe and Emma Bechtold. 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 339 

Of the Zerbeys 

Deaths and Burial Records, Christ Church 

There were no death records kept in Christ Lutheran church, Stouchs- 
burg, from 1773 to 1811. Neither were there but few names of the par- 
ents given. There were many records of the deaths of children, but only 
those who reached maturity are noted here. 

July 22, 1750, Mrs. Elizabeth Zerbe, wf. of Martin Zerbe. 

November 13, 1751, Maria, child of George Peter and Christina Zerbe, 
aged 1 year, 6 months. 

August 11, 1818, Sophia Elizabeth Zerbe, aged 66 years, 9 months, 3 
days. 

April 7, 1819, Benjamin Zerbe, aged 57 years, 1 month, 10 days. 

December 29, 1819, Anna Barbara Zerbe, aged 74 years, 7 months, 
18 days. 

November 12, 1821, Christina Zerbe, aged 64 years, 1 month, 18 days. 

August 20, 1824, Leonard Zerbe, aged 79 years, 1 month, 8 days. 

October 11, 1824, George Zerbe, aged 70 year.s, 10 months, 1 day. 

April 25, 1832, John Jacob Zerbe, aged 56 years, 2 months, 1 day. 

May 4, 1840, Anna Elizabeth Zerbe, aged 60 years, 2 months, 14 days. 

November 14, 1844, Michael Zerbe, aged 67 years, 4 months, 3 days. 

April 21, 1845, Andrew Zerbe, aged 37 years, 8 months, 26 days. 

September 12, 1849, Elizabeth Zerbe, aged 62 years, 6 months, 26 days. 

December 21, 1857, John Zerbe; parents. Christian and Maria Sophia 
Elizabeth Zerbe; aged 74 years, 5 months, 23 days. 

February 9, 1858, Augustus Zerbe; parents, Jacob and Catharine Zerbe; 
aged 47 years, 1 month. 26 days. 

January 9, 1859, John Zerbe; parents, Leonard and Barbara Zerbe; 
aged 86 years, 9 months, 27 days. 

September 10, 1875, Jacob Zerbe; parents, Michael and Elizabeth Zerbe; 
aged 75 years, 1 month, 21 days. 

October 15, 1877, John W. Zerbe; parent, John Zerbe; aged 72 years, 
9 months, 4 days. 

Hetzel's Church, Lutheran, Washington Township, Schuylkill 
County — Baptisms From 1817 to 1874 

Parents, John and Magdalera Zerbe. Children, February 17, 1817, 
Jonathan; October 20, 1820, John; December 12, 1823, Rosina; May 17, 
1825, Katherine; April 30, 1827, Samuel; November 8, 1828, Michael. 
Sponsors, Phillip and Christina Zerbe, Jacob and Catherine Sauser, Phil- 
lip , Benjamin and Barbara Batdorff, Samuel and Elizabeth Werner, 

Michael and Magdalena Zerbe. 

Parents, John and Maria Zerbe. Children, August 4, 1817, Katherine 
and Louisa — twins. Sponsors, Christopher and Katherine Schropp and 
Magdelena Zerbe. 

Parents, Phillip and Elizabeth Reichert Zerbe. Child, December 31, 
1819, Jonathan. Sponsors, John and Maria Magdalena Eckler. 

Parents, Phillip and Elizabeth Zerbe. Children, January 11, 1821, 
John; February 1, 1823, Jacob; September 12, 1825, Joseph; October 31, 
1828, Leah; September 19, 1830, Benneville; July 27, 1837, Reuben; No- 



340 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 



vember 11, 1842, Lovi. Sponsors, Jacob and Catherine Sauser, Joseph and 
Christina Bretzious. Johannes and Catherine Batdorff, Benjamin and Sa- 
lome Heimbach. 

Parents, David and Elizabeth Zerbe. Children, 1818, William (grand- 
father of Rev. J. W. Zerbc. Ohio); August 27, 1820, Maria; November 14, 
1821, Magdelena; October 25, 1823, Barbara; December 18, 1825, Lavina; 
July 11, 1827, Solomon; October 22, 1828, Leah; June 10, 1830. Lazarus; 
August 9, 1831, Elizabeth; October 23, 1832, Priscilla; May 4, 1834, Mich- 
ael; March 23, 1836. Eva; August 20, 1837, Sarah Eliza. Sponsors, Joseph 
Bretzious and Maria Lengle, Jacob and Magdelena Luckenbill, Michael 
and Barbara Bretzious, Joseph and Barbara Fertig, Rosina Reichert, 
Solomon and Elizabeth Christ, Daniel and Elizabeth Keller, Isaac and 
Anna Maria Barnhart, Michael and Maria Wenrich, Paul and Eva Barr, 
Johannes and Elizabeth Barr. 

Parents, Daniel and Catherine Zerbe. Children. August 1, 1824, 
Daniel; February 20, 1826, Levi; April 20, 1828, Jared; December 19, 1830, 
Louisa; June 2, 1832. Edward; July 24, 1834, Solomon; January 4, 1836, 
Maria Anne; June 29, 1837, Levi (2). Sponsors, George M. and Anna 
Maria Berger, Benjamin and Barbara Batdorf, Adam and Katherine Stahl, 
John and Philopena Zerbe, Conrad and Sarah Reichert, Solomon Schwartz, 
Magdelena Zerbe, John and Elizabeth Bretzious. 

Parents, Daniel and Christina Zerbe. Child, March 7, 1847, Peter. 
Sponsors, John and Katerina Heffner. 

Parents, John and Philopena Zerbe. Child, December 4, 1832, Lu- 
cetta. Sponsors. Adam and Katherine Stahl. 

Parents, Jonathan and Rosina Zerbe. Children, August 9, 1824, Jon- 
athan; May 10, 1827, Katherine; April 20, 1835, Solomon. Sponsors, 
Jonathan and Salome Gebert, Jacob and Catharine Lengle. 

Parents, Michael and Magdelena Zerbe. Children, December 10, 1825, 
Maria Anna; May 5, 1828, Katrina; August 24, 1830, John; October 15, 
1834, George; May 22, 1837, Rebecca; October 4, 1840, Michael. Sponsors, 
John and Anna Maria Bucher, John and Magdelena Zerbe, Jacob Bucher, 
Samuel and Susanna Zerbe, Conrad and Sarah Reichert, George Reed and 
Katrina Bucher. 

Parents, Samuel and Susanna Zerbe. Children, January 7, 1832, 
Jacob; May 11, 1836, John; December 16, 1842, Anna; no record, Isaac. 
Sponsors, Joseph Lengle, Michael and Magdelena Zerbe, Joseph and 
Katrina Lengle. 

Parents, Christian and Anna Maria Zerbe. Child, July 24, 1837, 
Christian. 

Parents, Peter and Sophia Zerbe. Child, January 13, 1835, Maria 
Anna. Sponsors, Joseph and Christina Bretzious. 

Parents, John and Maria Magdalena Zerbe. Children, January 27, 
1845, Caroline; February 11, 1850, Mary Ann; July 29, 1852, Emanuel; 
January 15. 1857, Rebecca; March 31, 1859, Eliza Lavina; March 20. 1861. 
John; April 9, 1863, George W. and Reuben, twins. Sponsors, William 
and Maria Gebert, Gottleib and Clara Shawell, John Hunker, Benneville 
Zerbe, Rebecca Hummel, Christian and Charlotte Heiser, William and 
Sara Schneck, John Hunker and Reuben Zerbe. 

Parents, John and Mary Anne Zerbe. Child, September 14, 1854, 
Emmeline. Sponsor, Rosette Zerbe. 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 341 

Of the Zerbeys 

Parents, Daniel and Maria Ester Zerbe. Children, December 18, 1845, 
William Lafayette; August 11, 1850, Mary Carolina; January 14, 1852, 
Emma Esther; July 29, 1848, Ellen. Sponsors, William and Maria Gebert, 
Earnest Grosmiller and Sarah Zerbe. 

Parents, Daniel and Barbara Zerbe. Child, November 26, 1857, Henry 
Franklin. 

Parents, Jonathan and Katrina Zerbe. Children, October 21, 1847, 
Maria; May 10, 1852, John; June 28, 1860, Katherine; July 26, 1863, 
Lavina; June 28, 1859, Emmeline. Sponsors, Elizabeth Ditzler and par- 
ents, Philopena Zerbe and parents, Lydia Emerich and Joseph, George 
and Rosetta Bretzious, Michael Boyer and Susan Emerich. 

Parents, Jacob and Katharine Zerbe. Child, March 25, 1849, William. 
Sponsor, Joseph Emerich. 

Parents, Joseph and Katherine Zerbe. Children, March 4, 1854, Per- 
cival; September 2, 1855. Joseph. Sponsors, Peter and Margaret Klick, 
Christian Hunker, Leah Zerbe, John and Magdelena Zerbe. 

Parents, Jared and Sarah Zerbe. Children, April 25, 1855, Daniel; 
October 17, 1856, Amelia; January 30, 1858, Kittie Anne; more children 
not in these records. Sponsors, Mary Zerbe, Elizabeth Wagner, Catharine 
Sheafer. 

Parents, Jonathan Zerbe and Catharine. Children, September 15, 
1857, Jonathan; October, 1855, Henry. Sponsor, John Zei'be. 

Parents, Reuben and Amanda Zerbe. Children, September 1, 1865, 
Kittie Louisa. Sponsor, Louisa Herbst. 

Parents, George and Mary Zerbe. Child, February 3, 1866, Milton 
W. Sponsors, Adam and Sarah Lengle. 

Parents, Franklin H. and Sophia Zerbe. Children, October 26, 1867, 
Emma R.; November 11, 1869, Albert W.; February 14, 1871, Clara Anne; 
March 2, 1873, Maggie V. Sponsors, the parents. 

Parents, William L. and Melissa Zerbe. Child, February 15, 1868, 
William Edmund. Sponsors, Ellen Zerbe and mother. 

(Note — Hetzel's early church records do not contain marriages.) 

Hetzel's Church Records of Deaths and Tombstone 
Inscriptions 

Phillip Zerbe, born October 23, 1765; died October 13, 1831; aged 65 
years, 11 months, 21 days. 

Katerina Zerbe, born November 3, 1798; died January 16, 1843; aged 
44 years, 2 months, 13 days. 

Amanda Royer, wife of Benneville Zerbe; born December 29, 1824. 

Philopena, daughter of Phillip and Christina Zerbe; born May 5, 1796; 
died April 8, 1870; aged 73 years, 5 months, 3 days. 

Daniel Zerbe, born December 1, 1799; died February 17, 1874; aged 74 
years, 2 months, 16 days. 

Benneville Zerbe, born September 19, 1830; died March 7, 1877; aged 
46 years, 5 months, 18 days. 

John Zerbe, born August 18, 1797; died April 14, 1877; aged 79 years, 
7 months, 26 days. 

John Zerbe, born Januai-y 11, 1821; died April 23, 1884; aged 63 years, 
3 months, 12 days. 



342 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 



Mary M., wife of John Zei-be; born November 18, 1831; died July 8, 
1897; aged 65 years, 7 months, 20 days. 

Mary Zerbe, born November 1, 1855; died December 28, 1881; aged 26 
years, 1 month, 27 days. 

Christina Zerbe, born July 10, 1801; died January 25, 1885; aged 83 
years, 6 months, 15 days. 

Joseph Zerbe, born September 12, 1825; died July 17, 1895; aged 69 
years, 10 months, 5 days. 

Catharine, wife of Joseph Zerbe, born November 13, 1820; died January 
30, 1904; aged 83 years, 2 months, 17 days. 

Mary Tobias, wife of Michael Zerbe, born May 28, 1811; died June 19, 
1889; aged 78 years, 22 days. 

(Note — No note was taken of the children's deaths.) 

Lancaster County Court House Records 

Grantor, Zerfass heirs; grantee, Samuel and W. K. Seltzer; July 4, 
1872; book H, Vol. 10, p. 76. 

Grantor, Zerbe (Zerfass), Samuel; grantee, Abraham Vondersal; June 
19, 1873; book 2, p. 5. 

Grantor, Zerfass — Zerbe, William R.; grantee, W. K. Seltzer; April 3, 
1893; book 9, p. 10. 

Grantor, Peter Klopp and wife; grantee, Nicholas Zerfass; November 
10, 1752; book C, pp. 60, 446. 

Grantor, George Dawson Coleman and wife; grantee, Jonathan Zerbe; 
March 28, 1850. 

(Tract known as Black Oak Ridge, Clayton, Lancaster, $2,062.) 

Grantor, Zerba Valentine, Zerba; grantee, John Zerba; July 27, 1793; 
personal estate. 

Grantor, Zerba, Valentine; grantee, John Zerba; July 10, 1793; book 
E. R. R. 46; p. 52. 

Grantor, D. G. Coleman et ux; grantee, Jonathan Zerbe; May 27, 1857; 
book R. 8; p. 223. 

Grantor, Isaac Brubaker et al.; grantee, Jonathan Zerbe; May 1, 1865. 

John Sheaffer, administrator; grantee, Jonathan Zerbe; March 20, 1867 

Grantor, Abrm Frastel, Exec; grantee, Mary Zerbe; June 2, 1892: book 
D, p. 2. 

Grantor, J. Hershberger for 125 pounds; grantee, Peter Zerbe and 
wife; January 29, 1791; book C, p. 446. 

Warrantee, John Server, Servey; survey, 250 acres; April 22, 1736; 
return, 158; March 14, 1817, January 24, 1873; patentee, John Zerbe et al., 
Barbara Fohrer. 

Warrantee, Zerbe, Peter (George Peter); survey, 100 acres; Novem- 
ber 12, 1737; return, 92, 120; May 29, 1789; patentee, George Ege. 

Warrantee, Surber, Henry; survey, 250 acres; August 9, 1738; not 
returned. 

Warrantee, Service John; survey, 200 acres; October 6, 1738; not re- 
turned. 

Warrantee, Surface, Nicholas; survey, 150 acres; November 13, 1747; 
return, April 27, 1778; patentee, Nicholas Surface. 

Warrantee, Sarber, Caspar; survey, 50 acres; May 10, 1749; 257; July 
3, 1809; patentee, Adam Teeter. 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 343 

Of the Zerbeys 

Warrantee, Swallow, Samuel; survey, 50 acres; August 23, 1749; re- 
turned; October, 1788; patentee, Jacob Mehnert. 

Wai-rantee, Swalle, Christian; survey, 50 acres; May 10, 1749; pat- 
entee, Christian Swall. 

Warrantee, Serwin, Phillip; survey, 40 acres; October 2, 1751; May 
14, 1817; patentee, Barbara Fohrer et al. 

There are many records of transfers of lands in Lancas- 
ter County by the Shippens and Carpenters, branches of 
which families were among^ the earlier settlers of Pottsville 
from 1850 and later. 

Lancaster County erected 1729, Berks in 1752. All of the 
land taken up in Berks County prior to 1752 was recorded 
in Lancaster County, of which the former was part. Many 
of these early records were destroyed by a fire in the Lancas- 
ter court house. There are many Zerbes in Lancaster Coun- 
ty. No effort was made to locate more than the above, after 
1800, and these were identified with those who were the 
early settlers of what was first Chester, then Lancaster and 
afterward Berks and Schuylkill Counties. It is believed that 
all of the Zerbes in Lancaster County are descendants of 
these men. 

The Zerbes were prominent land owners in Berks and 
Schuylkill Counties in the iSth century. Note the following 
of the second and third generations, in this country, many of 
whom were located in that part of Berks County now included 
in Schuylkill. 

Berks County Court House, Deed Book, Recorder's Office 

Warrantee, George Adam Zerbe; December 2, 1784; 300 acres; return 
42.81, December 6, 1784; patentee, George Adam Zerbe; book 8. 

Warrantee, Phillip Zerbe; May 2, 1785; 250 acres; return 291; 
January 15, 1787; patentee, Phillip Zerbe; book 8. 

Warrantee, George Zerbe; September 21, 1785; 96 acres; return 148, 
October 17, 1837; patentee, George Kerschner; book 8. 

Warrantee, Benjamin Zerbe; September 29, 1785; 200 acres; return 
219.80; patentee, Daniel Zerbe; book 8. 

Wai-rantee, Christian Zerbe; September 29, 1785; 100 acres; return 
114.18, December 1, 1876; patentee, John Heidleman; book 8. 

Warrantee, Benjamin Zerbe; March 23, 1787; 150 acres; return 
128,70, January 14, 1806; patentee, Christopher Uhler; book 8. 



344 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 



Warrantee, John Zerbe; January 22, 1788; 20 acres; return 1034, 
January 24, 1806; patentee, Jacob Zieber; book 8. 

Warrantee, Benjamin Zerbe; September 29, 1785; 200 acres; book 8. 

Warrantee, John Zerbe; January 22, 1788; 20 acres; book 8. 

Warrantee, Benjamin Zerbe; February 5, 1788; 3 acres; return 3, 
January 14, 1853; patentee, Phillip Zerbe; book 8. 

Warrantee, George Zerbe; February 17, 1791; 170 acres; return 170, 
September 18, 1824; patentee, Daniel Shappell; book 8. 

Warrantee, George Adam Zerbe; September 20, 1785; 305 acres; re- 
turn 305, December 2, 1785; patentee, George A. Zerbe; book 8. 

Warrantee, Jonathan Zerbe; May 22, 1792; 311 acres; return 311. 
October 12, 1812; patentee, Caspar Reeser; book 8. 

Warrantee, Zerbe, Thomas; May 22, 1792; 150 acres; return 175.2, 
July 10, 1795; patentee, Michael Genkinger; book 8. 

Warrantee, Zerbe, Peter; September 18, 1792; 350 acres; return 260- 
123, January 10, 1827; patentee, George Haas. 

Warrantee, Zerbe, Christian; October 4, 1792; 80 acres; 2nd warrant, 
October 21, 1807; patentee, Jesse Yarnatt; book 8. 

Warrantee, Zerbe, Christian; February 4, 1793; 50 acres; return, 
November 25, 1828; patentee, James Keim; book 8. , 

Warrantee, Zerbe, Leonard; August 1, 1793; 150 acres, return 172.76, 
February 12, 1795; patentee, Leonard Zerbe; book 8. 

Warrantee, Zerbe, John; March 12, 1796; 101.49 acres; return same. 
May 5, 1796; patentee, Leonard Zerbe; book 8. 

Berks County Court House, Recorder's Office 

Grantor, Conrad Minnich et al.; grantee, Peter Zerbey Jr.; October 
22, 1783; location, Tulpehocken; book 8, Vol. 1, p. 103. 

Grantor, Leonard Rieth; grantee, Peter Zerbey Jr.; October 23, 1783; 
location, Tulpehocken; book 8, p. 104. 

Grantor, Valentine Bender; grantee, Peter Zerbe Jr.- December 2, 
1797; location, Tulpehocken; book 16, p. 104. 

Grantor, Benjamin Zerby; grantee, Phillip Zerby; March 9, 1819; 
Bill of Sale; book 29, p. 513. 

Grantor, Casper Wister, Penn's agent; grantee, Peter Serbe; October 
22, 1783; Branch of Tulpehocken; book 8, p. 101. 

Grantor, Stahl, Jacob; grantee, Zerbe, John et al.; April 23, 1777; 
location, Cumru; b. 7, p. 3. 

Grantor, Zerbe, Benjamin; grantee, Zerbe, John George; November 
19, 1788; location, Pinegrove Township; book 11, p. 102. 

Grantor, Kalbach, Adam; grantee, Zerby, John; May 23, 1791; loca- 
tion, Cumru; book 12, p. 220. 

Grantor, Mayer, Frederick; grantee, Zerbe, John; July 30, 1802; lo- 
cation, Cumru Township; book 19, p. 250. 

Grantor, Zerby, Christian; grantee, Zerbe, Jacob; May 1, 1820; Power 
of Attorney; book 33-31, p. 307. 

Grantor, Zerbe, Jacob and wife; grantee, Zerbe, John; May 1, 1820; 
location, Heidelberg; book 50-49 p. 553. 

Grantor, Zerbe, John the m.; grantee, Leonard Zerbe; December 6, 
1785; Power of Attorney, book 12-9, p. 185. 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 345 

Of the Zerbeys 

Grantor, Epler, John V.; grantee, Leonard Zerbe; April 29, 1820; lo- 
cation, Bern; book 12-31, p. 319. » 

Grantor, Himmelberger, John and wife; grantee, Leonard Zerbe; 
April 10, 1824; location. Upper Tulpehocken; book 54-57, p. 408. 

Grantor, Zerbe, Jacob et al.; grantee, Zerbe, Michael; September 14, 
1768; location. Bethel Township; book 3-5 p. 337. 

Grantor, Mordecai Lincoln (grandfather of Abraham Lincoln); 
grantee, Zerbe, Michael; April 30, 1789; location, Exeter Township; 
book 14-6, p. 504. 

Warrantee, Spengle, George Christopher (m. Zerbe); 199 acres; 

warrant, November 17, 1752; patented, November 9, 1752. 

Warrantee, Servier, Nicholas; 40 acres; warrant, November 6, 1754; 
patented, July 19, 1852. 

Warrantee, Serby, John; 400 acres; warrant, April 10, 1754; patented, 
June 2, 1823. 

Warrantee, Serby, John; 50 acres; warrant, December 8, 1753 — 2d W.; 
patented, March 1, 1811. 

Warrantee, Servy, alias John Zerby Jr.; 50 acres; warrant, May 24, 
1821; patented, March 1, 1811. 

Warrantee, Serby, John; 40 acres; warrant, July 2, 1776; patented, 
May 13, 1833. 

Warrantee, Zerbe, John Sr.; 200 acres; warrant, January 22, 1778; 
patented, Jacob Zieber, 

Warrantee, Zerbe, John; 200 acres; warrant, January 22, 1778. 

Warrantee, Zerbe, John; warrant, March 8, 1796; patented. May 11, 
1796. 

Many other tracts of land referred to in this work are recorded in 
Berks County but are not duplicated in these lists. 

Schuylkill County Court House 

In the Deed Book the following are among conveyances made: 

Grantor, George Adam Zerbe; grantee, Michael Zerbe et al; July 
21, 1820; book 3, pp. 328-325. 

Grantor, Henry Schneider; grantee, Peter Zerbe; October 30, 1820; 
book 8, p. 373. 

Grantor, Seb. Zimmerman; grantee, Peter Zerbe; March 29, 1824; 
book 4, p. 373. 

Grantor, William Seltzer; grantee, Phillip Zerbe Jr.; April 1, 1833; 
book 13, p. 265. 

From 1847 to 1855 occur the names of Zerbe, Peter, Phillip, Phillip, 
Martin, Henry, Michael, Mary and Jonathan Zerbe as having bought 
or sold land. 

Warrantee, Swartz, W. Z.; 252.46% acres; wari'ant, March 31, 1854; 
patented, Wendel Schwartz. 

Warrantee, Zerba, Jonathan; 400 acres; warrant. May 24, 1813; 
patented, October 16, 1813. 

Warrantee, Zerba, George Adam; 200 acres; warrant, June 3, 1814; 
patented, April 24, 1815. 

Warrantee, Zerba, George Adam; 200 acres; warrant, June 3, 1814; 
patented, April 24, 1815. 



346 BLUE BOOK OF 

Genealogical Records 



Warrantee, Zerba, Phillip Jr.; 100 acres; warrant, August 4, 1814; 
patented, December 3, 1873. 

Warrantee, Zerba, Phillip Jr.; 35 acres; warrant, August 4, 1814; 
patented, Michael Fretz. 

Warrantee, Zerba, Peter Jr.; 100 acres; warrant, March 25, 1815; 
patented, Michael Fretz. 

Warrantee, John Adam; 40 acres; warrant, March 3, 1825; patented, 
March 4, 1830. 

Warrantee, Zerbe, John Adam; 100 acres; warrant, April 30, 1825; 
patented, March 4, 1830. 

Warrantee, Zerbe, John; 50 acres; warrant, April 30, 1825; patented, 
October 17, 1825. 

Warrantee, Zerbe, John; 100 acres; warrant, December 8, 1825; 
not patented. 

Warrantee, Zefbe, August; 12 acres; warrant, March 25, 1830; 
patented, Rebecca Zerbe. 

Warrantee, Zerbe, John; 26 acres; warrant, October 11, 1830; pat- 
ented, December 8, 1869. 

Warrantee, Zerbe, John L.; 30 acies; warrant, April 23, 1855; 
not patented. 

Grantor, Christian and Michael Zerbe; grantee, Louisa Zerbe; Sep- 
tember 27, 1861; book 67, p. 134. 

Christian and Michael Zerbe; grantee, John D. Zerbe; 1878; book 
150, p. 381. 

Grantor. John, son of Adam Zerbe; grantee, John L. Zerbe (1860); 
1854. 

Others were: Zerbe, Jacob. 1870; John, 1867; Jonathan, 1844-1855; 
John and Joseph, 1854. 

Grantor, George Klauser; grantee, George Zerbe, of Mahantongo 
Township; May 19, 1838; for tract of land, 63 acres, 40^/^ perches, in 
Lower Mahantongo; being part of proprietary patent dated June 4, 
1776, granted to George Boerchere. 

Grantor, Peter Dinger; grantee, George Zerbe, same; April 13, 1840. 

Grantor, Samuel Zerbe, trustee of George Zerbe, minor, son of 
Solomon, d.; April 8, 1854. , 

Tract of land adjoining that of Michael Zerbe, d., returned 1856. 

Grantor, Zerbe, Franklin; grantee, Zimmerman, Adam G.; March, 
1877; book 192, p. 297. 

Grantor, Benninghof, Wm., Ex.; grantee, Zerbe, Benneville; March, 
1855; book 178, p. 56G. 

Grantor, Zerbe, Jacob; grantee, Zerbe, Benneville; April 14, 1855; 
book 48, p. 155. 

Grantor, Boyer, John; grantee, Zerbe, Christian; August 30, 1860; 
book 64, p. 16. 

Grantor, Pott, Frank; grantee, Zerbe, Christina; February 2, 1864; 
book 76, p. 38. 

Grantor, Dreibelbeis, Rebecca; grantee, Zerbe, Daniel; February 15, 
1825; book 5, p. 79. 

Grantor Zerbe, Peter; grantee, Zerbe, Elizabeth; December 5, 1853; 
book 40, p. 624. 

Grantor, Zerbe, Oliver J.; grantee, Zerbe, Elizabeth et al; October 
17, 1888; book 202, p. 287. 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 347 

Of the Zerbeys 

Grantor, Freehafer et al, Wenrich exec; grantee, Zerbe, Elizabeth 
et al; December 29, 1882; book 165 p. 455. 

Grantor, Moyer, Isaac; grantee, Zerbe, Franklin; November 2, 1872; 
book 126 p. 183. 

Grantor, Emanuel M., George B. Stahl; grantee, George W. Zerbe; 
February 3, 1891; book 219, p. 437. 

Grantor Mary M. Zerbe; grantee, same; August 31, 1891; book 223, 
p. 326. 

Grantor, Fuhlweiler, Miller; grantee, Henry Zerbe; March 2, 1847; 
book 27, p. 176. 

Grantor Charles A. Heckscher; grantee, same et al; June 3, 1856; 
book 48, p. 321. 

Grantor, Simon Uhler; grantee, Isaac Zerbe; January 9, 1872; book 
121, p. 314. 

Grantor, George Adam Zerbe; grantee, heirs John Zerbe et al; July 
21, 1820; book 3, p. 325. 

Grantor, Adam Gebert; grantee, Jonathan Zerbe Jr.; June 1, 1827; 
book 5, p. 477. 

From the above date to 1852 Jonathan Zerbe Jr. has many trans- 
fers recorded. 

Grantor, Thomas Berger; grantee, John and Trustees; July 28, 
1834; book 14, p. 294. 

Grantor, George Adam Zerbe; grantee, Jonathan Zerbe; April 24, 
1838; book 16, p. 521. 

Grantor, John Zerbe Sr.; grantee, John Zerbe Jr.; December 7, 1846; 
book 26, p. 748. 

Zerbe, Solomon, Samuel, Jonathan and Rosina have many transfers 
recorded from 1847 to 1861. 

The above are mainly of John2 Zerbe the miller, (Lorentzl) line. 

On the State Tax Lists for 1779, Pinegrove Township, occur the 
following names: John Sr., John, Jacob, George Adam, Christian, Peter 
and Philip Zerbe. 




SCHUYLKILL CO. BLUE BOOK 351 

Allied Families 



Allied Families 



MERKLES 



^HE name Merkle is variously spelled, Merclen. Mark- 
len. Merklen, Merckle, Markling, Markle, Merkie, 
Merkel, Merchen, Merckel, Markheim, according- to the 
inclination of the owner or the orthography of the country 
from which the newcomer last hailed from. The first form is 
the most generally accepted, although the "e" should have 
the sound of "ah." 

The Merkles were Huguenots and settled in Alsace, 
France. On the revocation of the edict of Nantes many of 
them retired to Amsterdam, Holland, their descendants sub- 
sequently settling in America.^ 

One of the first among them was a George Merkle, who 
settled in Pennsylvania, Lancaster, afterward Berks County, 
1729, and became a naturalized citizen, i'J2()-t,o. 

The records of the churcii at the Trappe, Montgomery 
County; the Moselem church, Windsor Township, Berks 
County, and Trinity Lutheran church, Reading, contain hun- 
dreds of the names of this family but the genealogists have 
encountered difficulties that were insurmountable in the way 
of connecting one branch with another. The three brother 
theory, of that number of immigrants coming into Pennsyl- 
vania (ridiculed by many historical savants and branded as 
improbable,) and settling at different points, had its advan- 



(Note 1 — The 3rd series, Vols. 24, 25 and 26, Penna. Archives, con- 
tain many of these names, as Warrantees of land.) 



352 BLUE BOOK OF 

Allied Families 

tageous features in following the lines, but the early Uerkles 
show no such connection. The author has not attempted to 
follow the intricacies of these lines outside of one branch 
and its allies, but presents the various authorities and refer- 
ences where those inclined to delve deeper for information 
may, perhaps, discover the fountain head.^ 

TRAPPE CHURCH RECORDS 

1745 — Jacob Merclin. 

1765 — Elizabeth, da. of Abraham Mercklin. 

1772 — Barbara, da. of Abraham Mercklin. 

1767— Phillip, son; and Hamia, da. of Jacob Merclin. 

1772 — d.. aged 25 years, Isaac Merclin. 

(Note — They were members of Pastor Muhlenberg's church at New 
Providence and are on the records as having subscribed, ten, fifteen, and 
ten pounds respectively, yearly, the highest amount of any subscriber 
being fifteen pounds.) 

TRINITY LUTHERAN CHURCH, READING 

October 14, 1759, George Merckle and wife were sponsors, at baptism, 
for child of Jacob and Mary Maj-dalena Shumacher, Richmond Township. 
February 21, 1793, d., Margaret Englehart, nee Merclin, a widow, b. Feb- 
ruary 11, 1724, at Muelhausen, on road to Strasburg, Lower Alsace, 
France. Parents, Nicholas Merclin and wife Magdelena; sponsors, 
Huns Schweyer and Anna Magdelene Eber. In 1750 she came 
to America with her parents. 1751 she was married to George 
Englehardt, a blacksmith. They had twelve children, five sons and seven 
daughters; three sons and one daughter d. She was a widow twelve years. 

January 31, 1797, died, John Maerkel, b. December, 1730, nine miles 
from Philadelphia. Married, 1773, Mary Basserman. Had four children. 

December 13, 1803, d., Julianna Gerst, wf. of Christians Merkle; b. 
March 2, 1734, in Oley Township, Berks Co. 

January 29, 1811, Coxtown, Fleetwood cemetery, Anna Maria Merkle, 
wf. of Benjamin Parke. 

1759, September 29, bap.; b. September 25, John, son of John George 
Englehardt and wf. Margaret Mercklen. Sponsors, Lorenze Fix and Nickol 
Mercklin grandparents. 

MARRIAGES 

By Rev. J. A. Krug: 

1767, January 27, John Michael Merchen, second son of John Merchen, 
of Reading, to Anna Maria Kopp, daughter of Joseph Kopp, d., of Heidel- 
berg Township. 



(Note 1 — No attempt has been made to classify the Markles who 
exist in Luzerne County, nor the Merkles and Merkems in Northampton 
County.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 353 

Allied Families 



1789, June 11, Mary Merckel, da. of Christian Merckel, of Reading, to 
Isaac Hahn. 

Rev. C. F. Wildbahn. 

1789, June 23, Elizabeth, da. of Christian Merckel, at the home, to John 
Schaeflfer. The above were two sistei-s, married by the same clergyman 
eleven days apart. 

Ey the above. 

1789, December 20, Jacob Merckel, second son of Christian, to Cath- 
arine, daughter of Anthony Fricker. 

By the same. 

1794, October 14, Elizabeth, eldest daughter of Benjamin Merckel, to 
Ludwig, eldest son of Daniel Leinzenbeugler, both of New Hanover Town- 
ship, Montgomery County. 

1753, b. February 25, bap.. May 4, George, son of Adam and Dorothea 
Merckle. (St. Michael's and Zion, C. R., Phila.) 

1798, bap. March 18, Edwina, da. of Martin Merkel. 

(Hopewell church, York County, organized 1761, from Blymcr's.) 

(John Merclin, of Reading, 1756, was a Ranger from Berks County 
on the Indian frontier and was paid for his services by the Colonial Gov- 
ernment. — Penna. Archives, 3rd Series, p. 355.) 

(John Michael Merkel, second son of John Merclin, is shown as a 
taxable, 1788, in Northampton County, which was formed from part of Lan- 
caster and Berks, 1752. — Penna. Archives, 3rd series. Vol. XIX, p. 318.) 

(From Penna. Archives, Vol. 8, p. 649:) 

1773, January 1, Solomon Merckle and Rosina Dollman. 

1775, June 6, Sabina Merkel and John Ganger, widower. (St. Mich- 
ael's and Zion, Philadelphia.) 

1767, April 19, Anna Regina Mercklin and Michael Lutz. 

1774, January 11, Hannah Mercklin and Brotzman. (Lutheran C. 

R., New Hanover, Pa.) 

1804, November 18, Jonah Markley and Maria Frede. 

1800, May 20 — Maria Markley and David Gilbert. 

1795, April 7 — Isaac Merckle and Maria Kerper. 

1801, January 20 — Dolly Merkel and Matthew Cooper. (German Re- 
formed church, Phila.) 

John Christian j\Ierklen, b. 1678, came to Pennsylvania, 
1732, d. 1766; settling- in the Maxatawny Valley, Lancaster 
Connty (Berks), near Moselem Springs. The Merclins were 
from Lower Alsace, near Strasburg, France, and fled to Ams- 
terdam, after the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. His son 
Gaspard became a trans-Allegheny pioneer, 1771, and settled 
in Westmoreland County, erecting the first mill and a stock- 
ade fort on the frontier. 

General Joseph Markle (Merclin), b. 1777, d. 1868. He 
was prominent in business in Western Pennsylvania. In 



354 BLUE BOOK OF 

Allied Families 

1844 he was the Whig candidate for Governor, but was de- 
feated by Francis R. Shunk by a small plurality. 

(Note — Alsace, a province bordering on the Rhine, included in 
Charlemagne's empire. It was connected with Germany till 1648, when 
a portion was ceded to France — Louis XIV seized Strasburg in 1681. This 
city with the province was secured to France by treaty, 1697, and formed 
Haut and Bas Rhine until 1871, when it was ceded to Prussia. — (Encyclo- 
pedia Britannica.) 

(Note — Alsatia, a name formerly given to a precinct of Whitefriars 
in London, England. It being a colony for lawless and abandoned people 
during the 17th century. John Christman Merclen was an Alsacian, not 
an "Alsatian.") 

Christian Merclin (Markling) took the oath of allegiance to Great 
Britain, April 10, 1742. His will was written April 25, 1749, but was not 

daughters, Mary Anna, Maria and Anna Lena, they married Rugh, 

probated until the year of his death, 1766. It names five sons and three 
Hill. 

(Note — "Keim, and Allied Families," published by DeB. Randolph 
Keim, of Reading, has four references to the Merkles or Merclins, mainly 
contributed by C. F. Hill, of Hazleton, Pa., a descendant of the Hill who 
married the daughter of Christian Merkle.) 

Christian's sons were: Peter, George, Christian and Caspar (Gaspard). 

(Note — Abstract of Wills, Genealogical Society, Penna. Historical So- 
ciety, Phila., Vol. 2, p. 8.) 

RICHMOND TOWNSHIP 

The taxable Merkles, 1759, in this township were: (1750) George, Chris- 
tian, Peter, Caspar (the four latter, sons of Christian), and George, Jr. 

1762, June 23, George and Margaretta Merkle bap. a son John George, 
1767, May 7, Margaretta Merclin was appointed executor of George Merc- 
lin, d., of Greenwich Township. (Will Book, 2-29, and Book 11, Berks 
County C. H. and Abstracts, Phila. Historical Society.) The will states 
there were no children. This George Merkle was doubtless the first 
George (1729), 

1790, the Lutheran and Reformed church was built. Among the 
members, 1808, were: Peter- and Jacob Merkle. This Jacob was a mem- 
ber of Capt. John Fulmer's Company (R. W.) 

Jacob Merklin took out a license for marriage to Christina Antes, 
January 9, 1776. (Penna. Archives.) 

ALBANY TOWNSHIP 

Dietrich Markle was a taxable in Albany Township, 
1754, and a David Merckle too, Dietrich was a tavern keeper 
as is his great grandson, David, of the present generation. 
The Merkheims (as they spell it) are Mennonites, or German 
Tunkers and their churches in Albany Township have pre- 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 355 

Allied Families 

served no early records. The Merkheims are numerous in 
this township, they are mainly farmers and are all well-to-do. 
The name as first spelled in the tax lists stamps them as be- 
long-ing- to the original Berks County lines. Conrad Merkle 
(Merkheim) lived near Lehigh Gap, 1754. A daughter of 
Conrad Merkle married Frederick Boyer^ 

BAPTISMAL AND OTHER RECORDS 

1777, October 16, bap. George, son of Caspar and Blandina Merckle, 
(Moselem c. r. from 1741 to 1804.) 

Found on the fly leaf of an old German book: "1826, Den 31ten Juli, 
is Sarlina Seitel geboren und gedauft den 4ten November. Die dauf zei- 
gen sind Jacob Merckle und seine frau 'lisabet." 

1816, April 23, Reading "Adler:" "John George Merckle, of Richmond 
Township, died suddenly several weeks ago." 

William Merkel, of Windsor Furnace, near Hamburg, was a prominent 
citizen and has a line of descendants. Of this branch some settled in 
Hecla, Schuylkill County. The old St. Paul's church, near Hamburg, gives 
some, but the early records are very imperfect. 

Inscription on tombstone in Zion's church cemetery, Hecla: Solomon 
Merkle, b. May 8, 1782, d. March 10, 1819. 

(Note— J. I. Yost, merchant miller, of Hecla, furnished the above and 
is authority for the statement that tradition says, "there was an early 
Phillip and George Merckle in the same locality about 1800." 

A Henry Merckle stood sponsor at Zion's church, McKeansburg, 1809. 
An old record describes this church as, "Schumacher's Kirche, an der 
Nordkill weder dem Blau Berg, in Brunswig." 

EARLY TAXABLES 

1808, (before Schuylkill County was organized): 

Jacob Merkel, Brunswick Township. 

Michael Merkle, Manheim Township. 

George Merkle, Norwegian Township. 

Caspar Merkle, Norwegian Township. 

(The above Jacob Merkle was the eldest brother of Solomon Merkle.) 

Christian2 Merkel (John Christianl), b. 1726, m. Julianna Gerst. 
Christian Merkel, county commissioner in Berks, from 1767 to 1770. 

1772, a Christian Merkle was a grand juror from Heidelberg Township 
in the court of oyer and terminer. 

One Christian Merkle, in Captain Joseph Baldy's company, R. W., 
froze to death, 1777-'8, in Heinrich Haffner's (Henry Heffner) arms while 
confined as prisoner in a church. (Montgomery's History.) 

George Merkle, on Moselem Creek, took out a warrant 
for ? tract of land containing 1,300 acres. He built a large 



(Note 1 — Indian Stories, Part 1.) 



356 BLUE BOOK OF 

Allied Families 

stone grist mill and a family mansion, 1768, part of which is 

still standing. He married Christina , 1767. His will is 

recorded, 1814, (in Abstract of Wills, Gen. Soc, Phila.) but 
the heirs are not mentioned. (D. 113, 5, 312) 

Another George, in whose will no heirs are mentioned by 
name, was probated in 1779 

George Merkle bought land in Brunswick Township, 
1775, and sold the same to Martin Dreibelbis, 1779.^ 

John De Keim, founder of the old White store, Reading, 
married Maria Merkle (Markle) as his first wife, and Martin 
Dreibelbeis, whose da. Christina m. Benjamin Pott, of Potts- 
ville, m. Catharine Markle, daughter of the above George, 
of Moselem Springs, Berks County. 

Caspar Merclin (Gaspard) was twice married. He had 
eight children with his first wife and ten with his second wife. 
Gen. Joseph Markle (Merclin), b. 1777, d. 1868, was the first 
son of the second wife. (History on previous page.) 

John^ Peter Merkle (John Christian^), b. 1721. d. 1785; 
buried in Moselem church cemetery, Berks County. His 
brothers were : Caspar, George and Christian. He was for 
sixteen years an elder of this church. Married Catharine 
Grim, 1748. 

Trinity church records, Reading, Pa. — 1805, August 2, Caterina Merkel, 
widow of Peter Merkel, nee Grim, b. May 31, 1730; d. July 31, . 

Peter Merkle came to that part of Berks County, now 
Schuylkill, about 1754. He retained his membership in the 
Moselem church where some of his children were baptized. 
He bought of Nicholas Miller and wf., Eva Catharine, one 
hundred acres of land, April 17, 1765, upon which land he and 
his wife Catherine lived until April 4, 1778, when he retired to 
Moselem, where he died^. 



(Note 1 — There are many duplications of these family names, George, 
Peter, Caspar and Christian.) 

(Note 2 — This tract of land was near the first arch of the Pennsyl- 
vania Railway, in Spring Garden, on the road from Pottsville to Schuyl- 
kill Haven, part of which was afterward owned by his son, Michael 
Merkle. (Conrad Minnich, Part 2.) (D. B. 9, p. 121, Berks Co. C. H.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 357 

Allied Families 



Peter Merkle took the oath of allegiance to the Colonial govern- 
ment, April 4, 1778. As before stated, the taking of this oath was equiv- 
alent to serving in the Pennsylvania militia in the Revolutionary War. 

Casper Markle's children, first wife, were: Anna Rosina, b. February 
7, 1756, m. Boston Burget; Catherine Eliza, b. August 20, 1767, m. Jacob 
Whitesell; George, b. about 1761; Magdalena, b. April 20, 1764, m. John 
Neyman; Esther, b. September 13, 1766, m. George Auman; Abraham, b. 
February 20, 1769, m. Rachel Blackburn; Daniel, b. August 14, 1771; 
Elizabeth, b. , m. David Camp. 

Casper Markle's c. by his second wife were: Joseph, b, February 15, 
1777, died 1819; Solomon died young; Susanna m. Chas. J. Scholl; John 
m. Elizabeth Jack; Hannah, m.; Jacob m. Katy Painter; Sarah Salome 
m. Samuel Oliver; Mary m. William Miller; Gasper m. Polly Lobinger; 
David m. Maria Cowan; Leah m. Andrew Findlay Thompson. There 
were three other children. 

John Christian Markle had nine children: Peter Merkle m. Catharine 
Brietener Grim, April 13, or November 16, 1750; George Merkle m. Chris- 
tina Hill, April 18, 1750; Christian Merkle; Casper Merkle m. Elizabeth 
Grim, April 1, 1753, daughter of Egedius Grim; Frankiema Merkle m. 
Michael Rugh or Ruch; Mary Merkle m. John Jacob Hill; Anna Maria 
Merkle m. Frederick Kramer, 1745; Magdalene Merkel m. Peter Biehl in 
1760. 

MERKLES IN WARS 

Abraham Marckle, Independent troop of horse, 1756, (with Adam 
Sontag and George Peter Zerbe.) 

Michael Marckle, Capt. of the Light Dragoons, came from France 
with Lafayette. 

Christian Merkle, 3d Co., Berks County militia, first batallion. 

Capt. Adam Beard, g. g. f. of Capt. Samuel B. Graeff, of same, 3d Co,, 
3d Battalion Beck's Militia. (Part 1.) 

MERKLE WILLS AND RECORDS 

The will of Peter Merkle gives the names of three sons and five 
daughters^ Christian, his brother, executor. Christian had his share, 
Gideon and Bernhard each 500 pounds; Catharine, m. John Rothermel; 
Elizabeth, m. Jacob ZoU; Sophia, m. Daniel Staudt; Maria and Esther, 
single. There were other children, of whom no mention is made. 

Peter Merkle is said to have first settled (1754) on tract 
of land on the brow of the hill adjoining the tract owned by 
John George Zerbe. No trace has yet been found of the 
record of this tract. 

Daniel Bartolet said, "Peter Merkle lived in the log 
house which was attached to the brick house built by him 
(Daniel Bartolet)." Another tradition is that, "this house 



\ 



358 BLUE BOOK OF 

Allied Families 

was the home of John George Zerbe, which was located on 
the brow of the hill on the Long Run Valley road (between 
Schuylkill Haven and Cressona.)" 

Michael Merkle was born on the tract near Spring Gar- 
den. After his marriage he settled on the Fischer farm, in 
the Panther Valley (Bender Thai), on which or next to it 
afterward lived George Zerbe, wf. Magdalena Merkle. 

Tradition says the Merkles and Zerbes lived adjoining 
each other, but it is not clear whether both generations were 
neighbors, or only the latter. Michael may have lived for a 
short time in the home of John George Zerbe, after his death, 
as he owned part of the farm along the lower Cressona road, 
on which were several houses at the time of his wife's death 
that belonged to her estate and also four houses erected on 
the tract in Spring Garden, which first contained a large dou- 
ble house and four acres of land. 

MichaeP Merkle (Peter-, Christian^), b. January 8, 1771, 
d. March 5, 1829; wf., Elizabeth Ebert, da. of George and 
Magdalena Ebert, a born Henrich (en). Text, Isaiah, 55 
Chap., 8 V. Both are buried in St. Peter's church yard, one 
mile from Cressona. The inscription on the latter's tomb- 
stone reads :"Hier ruhet die gebeine von Elizabeth Merkle, 
egotten von Michael Merkle, geborn Ebert, Wittemburg, 
Principality, Germany, b. April 21, 1774, d. May 7, 1851. 

In the same cemetery her mother lies buried. Tomb- 
stone inscription : Magdalena, wf. of George Ebert, b. Feb- 
ruary 27, 1754; d. November 30, 1812.^ 



(Note 1 — St. Peter's cemetery was laid out 1780-'90. Services were 
held by both the Lutheran and Reformed congregations in the little 
school house, now the property of the Reformed church. A flourishing 
Sunday School was held there up to several years ago when a storm 
struck the building and made a ruin of it. The farm has several times 
changed hands recently. It was sold to Dr. Gray, of Cressona, who trans- 
ferred it to Israel Applegate. One of the provisions of the deed is that 
the cemetery on the land shall remain intact. Many of the tombstones 
have disappeared but the burying ground is still in good condition.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 359 

Allied Families 

Michael Merklc is on the New Jerusalem C. R. as hav- 
ing been a contributor, October 12, 1828, Daniel Zerbe, dea- 
con. 

Children of Michael and Elizabeth Merkle : 

1794, July 21, Phillip; 

1796 September 29, Magdalena^ m. George Zerbe (Zerbe's History.) 

1798, September 8, Catherina, bap. Oct. 14; sponsors, Yost Ebert and 
Caterina Kerschner. 

1803, February 8, Elizabeth; 

1805, May 8, Susanna; 

1807, July 7, Sarah, bap. October 11, Summer Berg. 

1809, , Henry, bap. September 6, Summer Berg; 

1812, October 11, Hannah, bap. December 9; George and Magdalena 
Ebert, grandparents, sponsors; 

1814, July 7, John George; 

1816, February 8, William, (Mexican War, Part 1). bap. April 4, 1817, 
St. John's Friedensburg. 

(From Merkle family bible, in possession of Miss Mina Bertolet, Cres- 
sona.) 

(Note — George Ebert was sponsor for Yost Ebert and Elizabeth's son, 
George, b. October 18, 1808; bap. July 22, 1811. On the same date Mag- 
dalena, of the same, was bap., born April 15, 1809.) 

They also bap. a daughter Christina March 11, 1799, (Summer Berg 
C. R.). 

Michael and Elizabeth Merkle were sponsors for George, son of 
George and Magdalena Zerbe, bap. July 11, 1812, (Summer Berg C.) 

Phillip Merkle, wf. ; sons, Michael and Henry, 

Henry Merkle, his sons were, Curtis, m., da. June, m., 

Frank, d., was a physician, m. Fessler; three children, 

two sons and one da. ; and Charles. There were three daugh- 
ters, one Mrs. Minnie Paine. 

Elizabeth Merkle (Michael j, m. Samuel Yost. They 
lived south of Orwigsburg, on a fine farm, the family home- 
stead. Their children were : 

Samuel, Frank and Lewis; das.: Kitty, m. Charles Lurwig; Phoebe, 
m. Wm. Nagle; Eliza, m. Henry Gerhai't, lives on a farm near Landingville, 
both octogenarians; Mary, single, lives with them; Susan, m. Wm, Lei- 

ser; Caroline, m. John Shutt; Emma, m. Dennis Leibig; Sarah, m. 

Bretz. 

Susanna, m. Bernard Schartle.^ 



(Note 1 — Orphans' Court papers: No trace of this man found.) 



36o BLUE BOOK OF 

Allied Families 

Hannah, m. David Scholl, Bloomingdale, Ind. (Amos 
Bartolet, cousin, says, "their son Lewis was a soldier in the 
Confederate army during- the Civil War.") 

George Merkle, m. Elizabeth, only child of Daniel 
and Hannah Hummel Zerbe, (Zerbe History). Their 
children were: Henry George, b. September 28, 1835, t)ap. 
February 21, 1836; William Henry, b. December 8, 1836, bap. 
May 19, 1837. Both living, 1912. William H. Merkle and 
wife, d., lived in the Daniel Zerbe homestead on the out- 
skirts of Cressona.^ 

(Note — Catharine and Sarah, see Bartolet.) 

Michael Merckle, is in the Orphans' Court book, Schuyl- 
kill County, on file, as having died intestate, 1829, but could 
not be found. His wife Elizabeth is on record in the same, 
185 1. Letters of administration were granted Bernhard 
Schartle, for Michael 1830. The heirs of Elizabeth Merkle 
were: Phillip, Sarah, wf. of Dan. Bartolet; Magdalena, wf. 
of George Zerbe ; Elizabeth, wf . of Samuel Yost ; Hannah, 
wf. of David Scholl ; the children of George Merkle, d., (Wil- 
liam and Henry), c. of Catharine, m. to Dan. Bartolet, being 
his first wf., and the children of Susanna, m. to Bernard 
Schartle, (John, Leah and Rebecca Schartle.) 

Daniel Bartolet (Bertolet) was of the original Berks 
County stock of that name. It is not recorded when he came 
over the Blue Mountains to settle, but he lived on part of the 
tract formerly owned by John George Zerbe on the brow of 
the hill above Cressona. He kept horses and employed men 
to drive the teams and fell the timber then used in the con- 
struction of the boats, bridges and early railways. That he 
was a man of more than ordinary intelligence, his well kept 
business accounts and records, in two family bibles, all in his 
own handwriting, shows. 



(Note }— Lutheran C. R., Schuylkill Haven, E. H. SmoU, Pastor.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 361 

Allied Families 

DESCENDANTS OF DANIEL BARTOLET 

Daniel Bartolet, Sr., b. October 11, 1792, d. November 16, 1864. 

Catharine Merkel (first wife), b. September 8, 1798, d. 1822; children: 
Abraham, Daniel, Jr. 

Sara Merkel (second wife), b. July 7, 1807, d. April 18, 1887. The 
wives were sisters and daughters of Michael Merkle. Children: Susan, 
Charles, Elizabeth, Carolina^ Elias, Amos, Lewis, Richard, Sarah, Emma 
Rebecca, Catherine, John, Louisa, Joseph, Benjamin. 

Abraham Bartolet, b. January 4, 1819; wf., Mary Weaver, d. March 
17, 1897. Children: Albert (shot in battle of Cold Harbor, Civil War.) 
William, unmarried, railroad watchman; Catharine, married George Berk- 
heiser, resides in Schuylkill Haven; Emma, d., married Christ From- 
knecht; Sarah, unmarried, d.; Franklin, d., married Mary Sowers; Mary, 
married Alexander Smith, of Orwigsburg; Elizabeth, unmarried, Cres- 
sona; Wallace, single, engineman, Cressona. 

Daniel Bartolet. Jr., b. May 22, 1821, d. November 1, 1885; wf., Ella- 
mina Luckenbill. Children: Henry, d.; Franklin Adam, freight train con- 
ductor, Harrisburg, Pa.; Louisa, Schuylkill Haven; Daniel, d.; Eliza, d.; 
Mary, Reading, Pa. 

Susan Bartolet, b. September 23, 1824; m. Wm. Kantner; both d.; 
Susan died February 11, 1901. Children: Tamson, d.; Rebecca Sterner, 
Cressona; Phoebe Simon, d.; Lillian Barton, Phila.; Albert, machinist, 
Pottsville; Caroline Berger, Schuylkill Haven. 

Elizabeth Bartolet, b. December 20, 1825; m. Louis Schaeffer, d.; 
Elizabeth died April 13, 1882. Children: Emma Aulenbach, Middletown, 
Pa.; Kate Boyer, d.; William, engineman, Cressona; Annie Bretz; Caro- 
line Minnig, d. 

Elias Bartolet, b. October 24, 1828; d. February 13, 1904; m. Elizabeth 
Dengler. Children: Ellen Robbins, Phila.; Cecelia Reiger, d.; Anna 
Scheetz, d.; Roxanna Wehr, Mahanoy City; Edward, engineman, Mahanoy 
City; George, engineman, Sioux City, Iowa. 

Lewis Bartolet, b. October 11, 1830; d. April 26, 1908; m. Rebecca 
Minnig. Children: Five deceased; William, weaver, Manayunk, Pa.; Harry, 
confection clerk, Manayunk, Pa.; Edward, postman, Manayunk, Pa.; lola 
Virginia, Kendler, Phila. 

Sarah Bartolet, b. November 2, 1832; d. February 11, 1901; m. George 
Fessler, d. Children: Catherine Sherry, Pottsville; George, engineman, 
Palo Alto; Susan Wagner, Cressona; Mary Moyer, d.; Phoebe Fessler, 
Cressona; Esther Hillibish, Palo Alto; Elizabeth Sterner, Pottsville; 
Michael, Cressona; Samuel, Cressona; John d.; Sallie, Cressona. 

Catherine Bartolet, b. June 30, 1834; d. January 25, 1911; m. John 
Fegan, d., Lyons, Iowa. Children: Daniel B., engineman, Lyons, Iowa; 
Joseph, machinist, St. Paul, Minn.; John, machinist, Missouri Valley, 
Iowa; Caroline Johnstone, Lyons, Iowa; Thomas, telegrapher, Dallas, 
Texas. 

Louisa Bartolet, b. January 7, 1836; d. November 25, 1913; unmar- 
ried. 

Charles Bartolet, b. December 12, 1837; d. October 24, 1905; m. Chris- 
tiana Neuer, of Harrisburg, Pa,, d. Children: George W., inspector. 



362 BLUE BOOK OF 

Allied Families 



Brooklyn Bridge, Brooklyn, N. Y.; Sara Margaret Wagner, Trenton, N. J.; 
Wilhelmina Catherine, teacher in public schools, Cressona; Anna Eliza- 
beth Breininger, Cressona; Herndon Lewis, High Springs, Fla. 

Caroline Bartolet, b. November 17, 1839; ra. Samuel A. Mertz; resides 
in Lehigh ton. Pa.; no children. Adopted Charles A. Snyder, a great- 
nephew. He keeps a general store. 

Amos Bartolet, b. February 10, 1842; assessor and supervisor; m. 
Rebecca Berger, d.; resides in Cressona, Pa. Children: Beata Davis, 
Cressona; Bard Bartolet, Cressona, clerk in C. & L Co. office, Pottsville. 

Richard Bartolet, b. December 1, 1843, Jersey City, N. J.; engine- 
man; married Martha Wiggan. Children: Roberta, stenographer, etc., 
Jersey City; Howard, clerk for P. R. R. Co., Jersey City. 

Emma Rebecca Bartolet, b. August 31, 1846; d. April 16, 1911; m. 
Jeremiah J. Kline, d.; resided in Ashley, Pa. Children: Charles Daniel, 
expressman, Ashley, Pa.; Harry Benjamin, d. 

John Bartolet, b. May 5, 1847; d. January 8, 1911; engineman, Sioux 
City, Iowa; first wife, Ellen Forrer, d., Cressona; second wife, Josephine 
Heffner, Mitchell, Dakota. Children: four deceased, Ida Moyer, Or- 
wigsburg. Pa. 

Daniel Bartolet and his two wives, Catharine and Sarah, daughters 
of Michael and Elizabeth Merkle, had 17 children, all living to maturity. 

1816, January 20, Daniel Bartolet, m. Catherine Merkle, Rev. George 
Mennig. 1823, December 25, Daniel Bartolet m. Sarah Merkle, Rev. 
Phillip Meyer. Daniel Bartolet and wives are buried in New Jerusalem 
cemetery. Spring Garden. 

Joseph Bartolet, b. March 10, 1849; engineman in Mexico, now in 
San Antonio, Texas; unmarried. 

Benjamin Bartolet, b. October 28, 1851; engineman L. V. R. R., Lehigh- 
ton; m. Francis Shuman, of Mainville, Pa. Children: Sara, clerk, Lehigh- 
ton, Pa.; Clay, d.; Howard, Prof, of Mathematics in Collegiate Institute, 
York, Pa.; Rena, stenographer, Lehighton; Florence, stenographer, Le- 
highton. 

Isaac Strauch, secretary of the New Jerusalem church, had 
possession of the records when the split occurred, and which 
were never found. He kept the toll gate when the turnpike ran 
to the left side from Schuylkill Haven through a covered 
bridge and thence on the lower road through Mt. Carbon 
to Pottsville. When the Reading railway was built, the 
bridge was removed and the turnpike kept on the right side 
of the river and canal. 

Michael Merkle, of Minersville, (Phillip, Michael and 
Elizabeth), b. near Cressona, 1823. He began life early as 
a driver on the old horse railway, of the Mine Hill Railway, 
to Schuylkill Haven, subsequently becoming stationary en- 
gineer for Richard Kear, Wolf Creek mines. He was one of 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 363 

Allied Families 

a quartette of Minersville men who operated the mines upon 
the lands of the Forrest Improvement Company. In 1868, 
under the firm name of Lawrence, Merkle and Company, they 
leased coal lands at Mahanoy Plane and Frackville, now 
leased by the Madeira, Hill Company, which were very pro- 
ductive for a time. Mr. Merkle was engaged in the coal bus- 
iness up to his death, which occurred from an accidental dis- 
charge of a pistol. Mr. Merkle was a self made man and one 
of the foremost citizens of Minersville. Adam Confehr, mar- 
ried to a sister of his, was engaged with him in the Forest 
Coal Company. 

Michael Merkle was twice married. First wife, Ann Bender, of 
Chester County. Their children were: Phillip, wf. Eliza Hadesty, sister 
of George Hadesty, division superintendent of the Reading C. & I. Co.; one 
son killed on railroad; Phillip, a soldier in the Civil War, is spending 
his declining years at the Erie Soldiers' Home. 

Emma, m. PrauU Boyer, brother of Col. Zaccur PrauU Boyer, both 
deceased; lived in Port Carbon. One son, Claude, m.; several children. 

Clara, d., m. George Ellis, druggist. Children: Madge, m. Will. 
Harris, plumber; Sadie, bookkeeper in office of Oak Hill colliery, Min- 
ersville. One in the West. 

J. Harry Merkle, the eldest, wf., Margaret E. Lewis. They had seven 
children, of whom three are living, George A., a rising young physician, 
of Minersville, and May and Blanche, at home. Mr. Merkle was a mer- 
chant of Frackville, but removed to Minersville about twenty-five years 
ago, where he has since been in the same business. Dr. George Merkle, 
m. E. K. Balliet, of Minersville. 

George F. Merkle, wf., Annie, da. of the late Henry and Sarah 
Graeff Hammer, for many years in charge of the Thomas Shollenberger 
store, of Minersville. Mr. Merkle is the manager of the Frank Law- 
rence general store of Minersville. Their children were: one daughter, 
m. Will. Flail, blacksmith at Reading shops, Pottsville. One son, Louis, 
a very promising young man, mechanical engineer, d. at the age of 
twenty-six years, of typhoid pneumonia. 

Michael Merkle's second wf. was Margaret Heilner, with whom he 

had three children: Horace, a physician, ra., died in Montana, no 

children. William, single, died in Jefferson Hospital, Phila.; Ida, d., 
single, in Norristown. Mrs. Mary Brady, Norristown. 

Gideon Merkel, d., lumber merchant, Minersville; came from near 
Hamburg; da's, Mrs. Mary Bedford and Mrs. Sue Ansty. Gideon Merkle 
was a descendant of the Merkles of the Trappe, Montgomery Co. 



364 BLUE BOOK OF 

Allied Families 

HISTORY OF THE MUENCHS 

The name Miinch, as originally spelled means monk or 
friar. It was derived from an estate, purchased from an order 
of monks in France. 

(The diaeresis or "umlaud" over the name Miinch has 
the effect of u e. Muench.) The name since has been vari- 
ously spelled Minch, Minck, Minnich, Minick, Minnick, 
Ming, Mennegh, Mennig, Mynich, Minock, etc., but it is from 
the same origin. 

Penna. Archives, 2d Series, Vol. XVII, and Rupp's 30,000 Immigrants 
have the following as settling in Penna. Ship Lists: 
John Christopher Meng, August 24, 1728. 
John Adam Meng, August 15, 1760. 
Michael Meng, October 20, 1752. 

John Minck (sick) and Christ. Ludwig Muench, November 3, 1752. 
John Minnich (sick), November 7, 1754. 
John Philip Menick, October 6, 1767. 
Peter Meng, on November 15, 1802. 
Hans Heinrich Muench, September 15, 1752. 
Hans George "Manig", October 2, 1749. 
Lorentz, "Manig," August 27, 1739, aged 40. 
Wendel "Manig," September 5. 1751. 
Conrad Muench, see pasport on another page. 
Phillip Muench, October 26, 1768. 
Tobias Manich (Rupp's, p. 22), October 17, 1749. 
Simon Minch, November 3, 1750. 

The early Miinchs were Catholics. During the reign of 
Louis XIV, in France, a Baron Miinch, who had embraced 
the Calvanistic religion and was a powerful factor in the 
Huguenot political party, was stripped of all his possessions, 
his chateau burned and he was among those massacred. His 
kinsmen, after the dissolution of the title, fled to Germany 
after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, 1685. Some of 
the younger men joined the armies at war with France and 
others, when the opportunity opened later, united with the 
Palatines and came to America, with their families. 

(Dr. Julius F. Sachse, Librarian, Masonic Library, Masonic Temple, 
Philadelphia, has the illustration and its heraldic emblazonment of the 
Muench coat of arms, a little tigure of a monk with the superscription 
"der Muench" above it.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 365 

Allied Families 

One of the first Miinchs to arrive in America was Hans 
"Minigh," on the ship Thistle, of Glasgow, Calvin Dunlap, 
master, from Rotterdam, August 29, 1730.^ He is described 
as a "newcomer from Holland, whose children are all at servi- 
tude," doubtless to pay his and their passage. 

Februai'y 7, 1755, administration was granted George Lambert, of 
Albany Township, Berks County; Michael Brobst, Linn Township, North- 
ampton County, friends of this John Minnich, late of Albany Township. 
(B. 21, p. 401.) 

A Johannes Minnich settled in Pinegrove Township, Berks County, 
17.54, where his son Johannes was born, August 8, 1757. Leonard, brother 
of Johannes, came to this township from Bern Township, 1767. (State 
and Proprietary Tax Lists, 1779 to 1785.) He had surveyed 200 to 250 
acres of land. 

Johannes-, d., April 27, 1823. Johannes and Leonard, with their 
wives, Christina and Magdelena, are on Jacob's church records as having 
communed there, November, 1799. Adam and Bernhard, their sons, bap- 
tized children in this church. A daughter, Magdelena, m. Jacob Heim. 
Letters of administration for Leonard Muench, Pinegrove Township, were 
taken out by Baltzer Hautz, 1802. 

Peter Miinch and Simon Miinch came to America on the 
ship Samuel, Hugh Percy, Master, from Rotterdam, qualified 
at Philadelphia, August 30, 1737.^ 

They located in Tulpehocken Township, Lancaster 
County afterward Berks County. Peter was 39 years and 
Simon -^y years of age. 

The two men were brothers, and Gottfried Miinch, of 
Mechtersheim, near Speyer, in the Kingdom of Bavaria, was 
doubtless a brother and a third son of a son, or direct kins- 
man of the Huguenot Baron of France. The two lines, the 
Berks County contingent and the descendants of the Phila- 
delphia line are unknown to each other and claim no rela- 
tionship ; yet their ancestral traditions are identical. The 
same family names occur with little variation through the 
first and second generations in this country. The letters, 
too, which follow tell of a misunderstanding between two 
branches of the Miinchs in this country ; whether this refers 



(Note 1— Penna. Archives, 2d Series, Vol. 17. p. 20.) 
(Note 1 — Penna. Archives, Second Series, Vol. 17, p. 133.) 



366 BLUE BOOK OF 

Allied Families 

to Gottfried and Conrad, brothers, of Phila., and sons of Gott- 
fried, of Mechtersheim, or as between them and their uncles, 
(supposedly) Peter and Simon, of Berks County, is not clear; 
but the two lines were close connections, the proof of it is 
unquestionable. 

(Note — Cut of original patent found elsewhere in this 
issue.) 

Peter Miinch settled in Bethel Township, then Lancas- 
ter County, now in Lebanon, Berks and Dauphin, where he 
took up a tract of land. Peter's grandson, Simon, son of Si- 
mon, afterward purchased this tract. March 23, 1750, Peter 
Minnich took up 300 acres of land in Pinegrove Township, 
Lancaster County, afterward Berks, now Schuylkill County. 
The tract included land on both sides of the Schuylkill river, 
and, as a fac simile of the original patent in our possession, 
found elsewhere, shows, was the original site of the "Seven 
Stars" hotel in Manheim Township, Schuylkill County, where 
he built a log house afterward burned by the Indians.^ 

Peter Miinch was twice married. First wife, Christina 
Barbara, by whom he had the following children : 

Simon, York County, Pa., yeoman, b. August 25, 1728, d. 1795. 
Jacob, York County, Pa., yeoman. 

Henry, wife of Catharine, Botecourt (Bashtourt County, Va., yeoman.) 
John Michael, Dauphin County, Pa., yeoman; b. January 2, 1738; bap- 
tized January 24, sponsors, John Michael Becker and wf. (Stoever's R.) 
Another child, name not given (probably Peter), and 
John Conrad Muench, b. November 28, 1740; bap., January 21, 1741, 
sponsors, Conrad Scharff and wf. Appolonia, Little Tulpehocken church, 
(Stoever's records.) 

Peter Miinch's second wife, with whom he had no issue, 
was Eva Catharine, widow of John Ritzman. Munch was a 
taxable in Pinegrove Township, Berks County, in 1754, and 
in Maxatawny Township, 1759. An old map of Governor 
Mifflin's time .shows "Peter's mountain," "Minnich's Gap" 
and "Minnich's Mill" ; and the Rehersburg church records 
show him to have stood sponsor, with his wife Catharine, for 



(Note 1— D. B. 4, p. 298, Berks Co. C. H.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 367 

Allied Families 

children, from 1748 to '51, of prominent parents in that 
locality; one of these God-children, John Peter Filbert, was 
afterward the first Mayor of Reading. 

August 18, 1751, da. of Albrecht Strauss (Northkill); 

March 6, 1748, da. of Philip Heiliger (Northkill); 

August 31, 1746, and May 28, 1749, for a son and da. of Samuel Fil- 
bert (Northkill); 

December 9, 1750, da. of George Schaetterle (Tulpehocken); 

March 8, 1751, for son of Dr. John George Trippner and wife Anna 
Elizabeth (Tulpehocken); 

August 25, 1754, for da. of George Muench, Bern. 

Among the Warrantees of Land, Lancaster County, Pa., published in 
Vol. XXIV, 3d Series, Penna. Archives, there is shown a warrant for 50 
acres to Peter Menig, dated March 23, 1750, but there is no record of a 
survey having been returned on that warrant. 

Peter Miinch m. Eva Maria Ritzman, May 30, 1756. He 
died 1766. His widow, from Atolhoe, near Rehersburg, tak- 
ing out letters of administration ; she being described as "the 
widow of Pteter Minnich, late of the part of Berks County, 
which lies over the Blue Mountains, in Pinegrove Township.^ 

The first four sons, October 15, 1787, disposed of their 
interest in the tract in Bethel Township to Simon, grandson 
of Peter Miinch and son of Simon. The other two children 
are not mentioned in the document. The signatures were 
proven October 25, 1790, by George and Peter Minnich and 
two others. The one child, probably a daughter, may have 
taken her share and John Conrad Minnich having taken out 
a warrant for 100 acres of the land, in Pinegrove Township, 
on both sides of the Schuylkill River, settled by his father in 
1750. (See map accompanying deed.) The patent shows that 
he paid the interest and quit rent on this tract from March 
7, 1760, acquiring title subsequently, by purchase, to most of 
the original patent of 300 acres in that vicinity and to lands 
adjoining it. Just when 

CAPTAIN CONRAD MINNICH 

settled permanently on the site of the Seven Stars Hotel, 
Manheim Township, Schuylkill County, is not definite, but 



(Note 1— Vol. 2, p. 148.) 



368 BLUE BOOK OF 

Allied Families 

it was not later than 1768, the year he was married. He may 
have come there and taken possession, 1760, when he took 
up the original patent for 100 acres of the land, signed by 
John Penn and upon which his father settled and the family 
lived, 1751, being driven from there as the patent states "by 
the burning of their log house and other buildings by the 
Indians," and then returned to Heidelberg Township, where 
he appears on the tax lists as "Yeoman," 1767 and 1768. 

Francis Parvin took up by warrant, 56 acres of land, 
June I, 175 1. His executors sold this land to Ellis Hughes, 
October 9. Neither lived upon the tract but Ellis Hughes, 
who lived in Exeter Township, operated a saw mill upon it. 
He granted three tracts of land to John Gerber, August i, 
1771. 

The 174 acre tract was surveyed by warrant, April 12, 
1770, granted to George Gardner, who, February 5, 1762, 
granted the same to Isaiah Willets, who, September 15, 1766, 
granted the same to Ellis Hughes. On this tract stood the 
saw mill. The 174 acre tract was surveyed in pursuance of 
Thomas Hughes' application, who by his deed dated Decem- 
ber 10, 1767, granted the same to Ellis Hughes, who conveyed 
it, August I, 1 77 1, to John Gerber, miller of Cumru Township. 

Conrad Minnich, it appears from the following, lived 
upon part of this land during these transfers. 

The Berks County Deed Book says: "John Gerber, of 
Cumru Township, sold August 18, 1775, to Conrad Minnich, 
of Brunswick Township, for 600 pounds, a certain messuage 
water saw mill and three tracts of land, now in the said Con- 
rad Minnich's actual possession, being situated adjoining 
land late of Francis Parvin and Balthazer Neyfung and thence 
up the Schuylkill River, containing 174 acres ; one other of 
them, adjoining land now or late of Ellis Hughes and Joseph 
Berger, in the forks of the Schuylkill, containing 114 acres 
and the other of them bounded on the northeast by the east 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 369 

Allied Families 

branch of the Schuylkill River and on the southeast by land 
of James Boone and on the southwest and northwest now 
vacant, containing 56 acres." 

A reasonable conclusion to arrive at, is that as Ellis 
Hughes was a non-resident, Conrad Minnich ran his saw 
mill for him and boarded the men at the road house (as in 
the case of Neyman, who operated Baltzer Gehr's saw mill 
on the site of Pottsville), and afterward came into full pos- 
session of the tract upon which he lived with his father's 
family, 1750. 

Christopher Stump patented a tract of 200 acres of land 
February 25, 1755; 100 acres of this land he and his wife 
Margaret granted to Nicholas Miller, March 25, 1755. Au- 
gust 30, 1778, Christopher Balti and Susanna, his wife, sold 
to Conrad Minnich and Henry Deckert, of Brunswig Town- 
ship, for 580 pounds, 100 acres and allowances of land, ad- 
joining Adam Miller's and part of the land of the aforesaid 
Christopher Stump. 

Nicholas Miller and Eva Catharine, his wife, sold the 
said 100 acres to Peter Merkle and Catharine, his wife, April 
17, 1765. Peter Merkle, April 4, 1778, granted the same to 
Christopher Balti. (Book 9, p. 121.) 

Nicholas Miller removed to Shamokin Township, North- 
umberland County, where he is noted on the tax list, 1788, and 
also appears on the tax list of Augusta Township, 1771. 

September 5, 1782, Henry Deckert and Elizabeth granted 
their half in this tract to Conrad Minnich. (Book 9, p. 123.) 

Peter Filbert, Sheriff of Berks County, sold to Conrad 
Minnich, Setember 5, 1785, 230 acres of land, the property 
of Jacob Gemmerling (Kemnierling), Brunswick Township, 
adjoining lands of Henry Dieter, Martin Dreibelbis and oth- 
ers, (Book 9, p. 400.) 

November i, 1791, Conrad Minnich and Elizabeth, his 
wife, of Manheim Township, sold to Asa Jones, 200 acres of 



370 BLUE BOOK OF 

Allied Families 

land, "at the mouth of Tumbling Run, over the Blue Moun- 
tain," late in Manheim Township. (B. 12, p. 431.) Bought it 
from Paul Feger, February 14, 1782. (B. 12, p. 437.) 

"Mortgage by Asa Jones, Manheim Township, to John 
Moyer, Hamburg, November 22, 1791, for eleven pounds, in 
gold or silver, on the tw^o hereinafter named tracts of land : 
The one thereof situate on Tumbling Run, including the 
mouth thereof, containing about 200 acres. It being the same 
tract which Conrad Minnich and Elizabeth, his wife, did, 
on November i, 1791, grant unto Asa Jones. The other tract 
of 176 acres, on the other side of the Schuylkill from the first 
tract." Conrad Minnich and Peter Minnich were the wit- 
nesses to the mortgage. (Book 9, p. 154.) This land was af- 
terward located as in Norwegian Township. The above Peter 
Minnich is doubtless the Peter who settled in Northumber- 
land County with Conrad, Jr. He was a son of Simon. 

Thouron's addition to Pbttsville, (Norwegian Town- 
ship,) was laid out on land patented to Conrad Minnich and 
Jacob Zoll, July 10, 1792-September 5. lyg^}-- 

(See Fisher's, 1831 Map, Schuylkill County, Commis- 
sioners' office.) 

Conrad Minnich, as aforesaid, came with his father, Pe- 
ter, 1750, when ten years of age, to Pinegrove, Manheim 
Township, returning to Bethel, 1755, and again returning 
north about 1760-1768, where he lived during his lifetime 
upon the same land, although the name of the Township 
changed several times during his occupancy. 

In these transfers of land, noted above, Conrad Min- 
nich is mentioned as "Yeoman," "Miller" and as "Church 
Warden," of Zion's Lutheran church, (Red church), of 
Brunswick Township. He at one time having bought land 
and holding the deed in trust for the church. His wife is 



(Note 1 — One of the original tracts constituting the boundaries of 
Pottsville, so described in Deed Book, Schuylkill Co. C. H.) 

(Note 2 — James Wilson, signer of Declaration of Independence, bought 
part of a tract of land adjoining the above, 1790, from Jacob Zoll.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 371 

Allied Families 

named in the deeds as Elisabeth, daughter of George Peter 
Zerbe, late of Tulpehocken Township. He was a taxpayer, 
Pinegrove Township, Berks County, 1772, and the first col- 
lector of taxes in Manheim Township, 1791. The Proprie- 
tary State Tax Lists, Berks County, show Conrad Minnich 
to have paid taxes on a saw and grist mill and from 300 to 
500 acres; from 1779 to 1784 his family consisted of eight 
persons. 

CONRAD MINNICH'S HOTEL 

now known as the "Seven Stars," was the first public house 
in (Schuylkill) this county. When rebuilt after its destruc- 
tion by the Indians, 1755, it was partially constructed of 
stone ; these walls in the rear are still standing, but the front 
was a low log building. Ellis Hughes' saw mill stool sev- 
eral hundred yards south of the hostelry, which was sur- 
rounded by a dense pine forest and as a road house on the 
state road, laid out 1770, afforded entertainment and lodg- 
ing for the patrons of the stage coach from Philadelphia and 
Reading to Fort Augusta (Sunbury) and the few wood cut- 
ters and wayfarers thereabouts. It is mentioned as, "Capt. 
Conrad Minnich's, Brunswick Township, near the Schuyl- 
kill, several miles south of the Sharp Mountain," and as, 
"being then the 'Frontier' ", August 27, 1777.^ 

Conrad Minnich was a captain of the second company 
in the third battalion of Berks County militia. May 16, 
1777, in the Revolutionary War. One of the three com- 
panies partially organized from this side of the Blue Moun- 
tains, in the part of Berks County, now included in Schuyl- 
kill County. - (For military history see Berks and Schuyl- 
kill in the Revolutionary War on previous page.) 

There is no record of Conrad Minnich's marriage to 
Elizabeth, daughter of George Peter Zerbe, of Tulpehocken 

(Note 1 — Penna. Archives, 3d Series, Vol. 14, p. 265, Indian Forts, 
Vol. 1.) 

(Note 2— Penna. Archives, 5th Series, Vol. 5, pp. 128-135-190-201.) 



372 BLUE BOOK OF 

Allied Families 

Township, Berks County. The records of Christ Lutheran 
church, Stouchsburg, Marion Township, Berks County, for 
which her father, George Peter Zerbe, was a signer, 1743. 
are well kept and in a remarkable state of preservation from 
1748 to 1760, under the various pastors, when Rev. John 
Nicholas Kurtz and his brother, William Kurtz, took charge. 
They had charges at St. Michael's, (icrmantowu. Phila., and 
w^ere itinerants, serving the Red church and others, in that 
part of Berks, now Schuylkill County, and serving privately 
the offices of the church to many individuals and families dur- 
ing the ten years of their itinerancy. To these men is at- 
tributed, more than to any others, the difficulty experienced 
by genealogists in this locality, of obtaining official regis- 
trations of family records. There are no marriages recorded 
in Christ Church, from 1760 to 1771. Nor are their records 
to be found in the church archives, as the following attests: 

Krauth Memorial Library, Lutlieran Theological Semi- 
nary, Mt. Airy, Phila. 

Rev. Luther D. Reed, Director. 

September 8, 1913. 

Dear Madam : — After consultation with the Dean of the 
Seminary, I regret to inform you that the Kurtz records and 
papers are not in our possession, nor have we any informa- 
tion in regard to them. 

Yours truly, 

M. E. KAIGHN, Librarian. 

Elizabeth Zerbe, b. 1740; confirmed, 1760; da. of George 
Peter Zerbe, 19 years and 6 months. (Christ church records.) 

Conrad Minnich and Elizabeth Zerbe were married 
about 1768. 

1761, September 21, Conrad Minnich and Elizabeth Zerbe, 
sponsors for Anna Elizabeth, da. of George Minnich. (Reh- 
ersburg church records) ; and June 19. 1768, sponsors for a 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 373 

Allied Families 

son, Conrad, of George Yeakley, Conrad Minnich and wife. 
(Daniel's Corner church records, Robesonia.) 

October 22, 1783, Conrad Minnich, et al., grantor to 
Peter Zerbey, Jr., son of George Peter Zerbe, deceased, tract 
of land in Tulpehocken Township. (Recorder's office, B. 8, 
V. I, p. 103.) The heirs sold their interests to Peter, Jr., and 
signed their names, spelled, Zerbe. 

The first census, 1790, gives Conrad Minnich as having 
two sons over sixteen years, two under sixteen and four 
daughters. The baptismal records of the Red church, of 
which he was Warden, gives only two of these children, the 
others doubtless being among the Kurtz records. 

Conrad Miinch and wf. Elizabeth — Christina, b. May 16, 
1779- 

May Susanna, da. of Conrad and Elizabeth Miinch, b. 
April, bap. 1781. 

The other children were : Conrad, Jacob, Joseph, Fred- 
eric. Elizabeth ; one died in infancy. 

CONRAD MINNICH, SECOND 

Conrad^ Minnich (Conrad^, Peter^), b. 1770; d. in Sun- 
bury, Northumberland County, 1809; will. 1809; issue: Henry 
and Elizabeth, wife of Adam and Christina Sunday. The 
latter removed to Centre County, 1800, where Adam Sunday 
died at George's Valley, April 24, 1855, the widow surviving. 
The warrantees for Northumberland County give Adam Son- 
tag, Conrad Minnich and Henry, Benjamin and Peter Min- 
nich as having taken up 400 acres of land each, November 18, 
1793. Conrad^ Minnich was a taxable in Manheim Township, 
Berks County, 1802, later Norwegian Township, Schuylkill 
County, and is mentioned in land transactions, also, at what 
is now West Woods, Schuylkill County. The land of Adam 
Sontag and Conrad Minnich is now included in Mifflin and 
Catawissa Townships, Columbia County. 



374 BLUE BOOK OF 

Allied Families 

Henry Miinch (Benjamin^ Miinch, Christopher^, Simon^), 
of Heidelberg Township, married Catharine Reed, of the Tul- 
pehocken, December i6, 1765. 

Elizabeth^ Minnich (Conrad^) was m. twice, to Isaac 
Phillips and to a man named Rudy. She lived in Beaver 
Valley, Pinegrove Township, and left numerous descend- 
ants. She was known to everybody thereabouts as Aunt 
Betsy Phillips and with both husbands is buried in St. Pe- 
ter's cemetery, near Cressona. 

Two daughters died without issue. 

Jacob, second son of Conrad^ Minnich, married Mary 
Pott, daughter of John Pott, the founder of Pbttsville. A 
sampler of homespun linen worked in colored silk by Mrs. 
Minnich, in possession of a descendant of the family, gives 
the following dates of birth: "Jacob Minnich, b. 1771 ,* Mary 
Pott Minnich, b. June 18, 1797; Jeremiah Minnich, b. June 
26, 1820; William Minnich, b. April 14, 1822; Maria Minnich, 
b. May 28, 1824; Catharine Minnich, b. December 25, 1826; 
Emma Rebecca, b. March 6, 1833." 

Jacob Minnich has been variously referred to as "Fred- 
eric" and "Joseph." He may have had a double name, but is 
in the court house records as Jacob and so remembered by 
his grandson, Edwin J. Minnich. The latter has in his pos- 
session a Masonic Macassar cloth, or Spitalsfields silk hand- 
kerchief, such as members of that organization sometimes 
wore about the neck as a muffler. It was made in Spitals- 
field, England, by Huguenot silk weavers and belonged to 
his grandfather, Jacob Minnich. "Joseph Minnich lived in 
Bristol, Pa., in 1820, and belonged to the Masonic order, of 
that place, but there is no other record of an early Minnich in 
the Masonic archives," (Dr. Julius Sachse, Librarian, Phila.) 

Captain Conrad Minnich d. 1796. Letters of administra- 
tion were granted to Jacob Brickley, April 6, 1796, his widow 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 375 

Allied Families 



Elizabeth renouncing.^ Elizabeth, his wife, died 1799. Both 
are buried in St. Peter's cemetery, i>^ miles north of Cres- 
sona. Their graves were recently identified by their great 
grandson, Edwin J. Minnich, of St. Clair. A Revolutionary 
War headstone obtained from the government was placed at 
the head of the old soldier's grave and a suitable marker 
installed at the head of that of his wife's, this work having 
been a tribute of descendants of the George Peter Zerbe fam- 
ily. 

The following is self explanatory: 

"St. Bonifacius Rectory, St. Clair, Penna. 

This is to certify that Mr. Edwin J. Minnich has been in 
my employ for the past one and a half years and in that of 
my predecessor's employ for the space of at least three years, 
and has filled his position in every way satisfactorily. I have 
found him always a man of veracity and upon such testi- 
monials I have kept him in employ myself. 

Jos. A. Scheafer, 
Rector St. Bonifacius Church, 
April ID, 191 3. St. Clair, Pa." 



"Trinity Church Rectory, Pottsville, Penna. 
To whom it ma)^ concern: — 

I have known Mr. Edwin J. Minnich in connection with 
the church, very well for a long time — twenty years or more. 
I regard him as a straight, honest, truthful man; and would 
not hesitate to take his word deliberately given, to be the 
truth to the best of his knowledge and belief. 

James F. Powers, 
April 10, 191 3. Rector Emeritus Trinity Church." 

(Note 1— Berks County Court Book, and Abstract of Wills, Penna. His- 
torical Society, Phila.) 



376 BLUE BOOK OF 

Allied Families 

"St. Clair, Schuylkill Co., Penna., April 9, 1913. 

I, Edwin Minnich, do hereby certify that the unmarked 
grave in the northwest corner of old St. Peter's Lutheran 
and Reformed burying ground, laid out about 1780, one and 
a quarter miles west of Cressona, Schuylkill County, is that 
of my great grandfather, Capt. Conrad Minnich, who lived at 
the present site of the Seven Stars Hotel, Manheim Township, 
Schuylkill County, Penna. He died 1796 and his wife, Eliza- 
beth Zerbe, of Heidelberg Township, Berks County, died 
about 1799, and they were buried beside each other in the 
above designated cemetery ; when a boy I frequently visited 
this spot with my great aunt, Mrs. Elizabeth Phillips, daugh- 
ter of Conrad and Elizabeth Minnich, who lived nearby, and 
whom I assisted in fixing up the graves of her parents. 1 
identify the grave by its proximity to the fence and a large 
tree, since hewn down, the stump of which is still standing, 
and also by a tombstone adjoining their headstones which 
were of sand stone and have long since been destroyed by the 
elements. 

Edwin J. Minnich." 
Sworn to and subscribed before 
me this loth day of April, 1913. 
Frank Little, 

Notary Public. 

GRAVES OF "MEN OF 1776" MARKED 

The work of erecting the Revolutionary War tombstones of Capt. 
Conrad Minnich and George Zerbe, early settlers of this locality, was 
completed early this week. 

Conrad Minnich is interred in St. Peter's cemetery, an old burying 
ground layed out 1780-'90, in Beaver Valley, (Schnickle Creek Dahl), 
one and a quarter rniles west of Cressona; and George Zerbe is buried 
in St. John's Union cemetery, Friedensburg. 

Conrad Minnich's wife, Elizabeth Zerbe, for whom a tombstone was 
also erected, vt^as a sister of George Zerbe. Another sister, Anna Maria 
Zerbe, was the wife of Leonard Rieth (Reed), Wagon Master in General 
Washington's army at Trenton and Valley Forge, a rank corresponding 
to that of Colonel, in the battalions of militia of that period. St. Jacob's 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 377 

Allied Families 



church records, next to the Red church, below Orwigsburg, the oldest in 
Schuylkill County, show him and his wife to have been buried in that 
cemetery, several miles below Pinegrove, but his grave has not as yet 
been fully identified. 

These graves, with the exception of one, all had red sandstone tomb- 
stones, which long since succumbed to the ravages of time and the 
weather. 

Gowen Post, G. A. R. furnished the Grand Army markers for the 
graves, and the P. O. S. of A. and Washington Camp, of Friedensburg, 
and Dentzer Post, G. A. R., assisted by W. C. No. 73 and the I. 0. I. A, 
of Cressona, will assume the responsibility of decorating the graves on 
Memorial Day. 

Three of these tombstones were obtained from the U. S. War Depart- 
ment, Quartermasters Corps, U. S. Army, D. C, by Mrs. Ella Zerbey 
Elliott, who supervised their erection. The work at Friedensburg was 
done by the sextons of the church and that of Capt. Conrad Minnich's 
and wife, Elizabeth Zerbe, was performed by Edwin J. Minnich, of St. 
Clair, a lineal descendant. 

(Conrad and Elizabeth Zerbe Minnich's son, Jacob Minnich, married 
Maria Pott, daughter of John and Maria Lesher Pott, and sister of Ben- 
jamin Pott, who were the great grandparents of the above.) — Pottsville 
"Republican." 

(J. H. Zerbey, editor of the "Republican," furnished the tombstone for 
Mrs. Minnich and made the work possible.) 

The property of Conrad Minnich was sold to Martin 
Dreibelbis, who left it by will to his son George, who con- 
ducted the hotel when it was bought by Benjamin Pott, who 
transferred it to his sister Mary, wife of Jacob Minnich. The 
family lived in a farm house in the rear of the hotel which 
was partially destroyed by fire several times. The farm house 
was washed away in the freshet and flood of 1852. Catharine 
died from the effects of the exposure to that disaster and with 
one exception the remainder of the children died without 
issue. After the destruction of the farm house the Jacob 
Minnich family lived in the house south of and adjoining the 
hotel. The parents were buried in the old cemetery, Potts- 
ville, on the site of the Grammar School, North Centre St., 
from which all bodies were removed to the Presbyterian cem- 
etery, on the transfer of the cemetery to the school board, 
1896. Some of the Minnich family were re-buried at the 
Jerusalem church cemetery, Schuylkill Haven. 



378 BLUE BOOK OF 

Allied Families 

Williams Minnich, b. April 14, 1822, (Jacob2, Conradl) m. Catharine 
Knoll, who on his death m. John T. Mayer, (who was lame.) They kept the 
Seven Stars hotel, 1860, the front of which had been rebuilt by George 
Dreibelbis, and was again improved at that date. The children of Wil- 
liam Minnich: Mary, William, Caroline, Catharine. Jeremiah, died without 
issue. 

Edwin4 J. Minnich (William3, Jacob2, Conradl), wf. Elizabeth Hoff- 
man, d. One son, Peter Roy Minnich, wf. Louisa Bixler; c, Edwin, Helen, 
Elizabeth and an infant. 

Peterl Muench, born 1698, d. 1766, married twice (see previous page.) 
John2 Michael (Peterl), b. January 2, 1738, (Stoever's records), d. 1800; 
wf. Maria Christina Ludige, d. Shrewsbury Township, York Co., 1800; 
issue: Michael, Jonathan, George, Joseph, Elizabeth, wf. of Jacob Glad- 
felter. Their descendants in Dallastown and in York County are numer- 
ous. 

(Matthias Muench, on Lindemuth's Map, was known in 

the land transactions as Michael.) 

John Michael Minnich was a Lieutenant in 4th Co. ist 
Bat. Col. P. L. Greenawalt, Capt. George Nuoll, Lancaster 
County, that part afterward included in Dauphin and then 
Lebanon County, in the Revolutionary War.^ 

He took the oath of allegiance, October 12, 1777. The 
roster of this company has never been found. Egle's History, 
Dauphin and Lebanon Counties, says, p. 38: "1775 a battalion 
with the following officers was formed, Capt. Geo. Null's 
company, first organized. Were in active service, 1776, and 
in the retreat of Gen. Washington, in New Jersey, (p. 52) 
and at the battle of Trenton, Princeton, Brandywine, Ger- 
mantown, and at the surrender of Fort Washington, No- 
vember 16, 1776 (p. 341). 

Administration papers were granted the sons of John 
Michael Miinch, April 15, 1800. Michael, Jonathan and 
George. His land was sold to his son Joseph and son-in- 
law, Jacob Gladfelter, for 405 pounds. 

George3 (Michael2, Peterl), b. 1770; d. Wrightsville, Pa., 1820; m. 
1796; wf. Salome Jane Frank, d. 1833; c, Maria Catharine, Elizabeth, 
George, Daniel, Michael, John G., Salome. 



(Note 1 — Penna. Archives, 5th Series, Vol. 13, pp. 352, 410, 2 Series, 
Vol. 13, p. 352.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 379 

Allied Families 

John4 G. Minnich (GeorgeS, Michael2, Peterl), b. 1811; d. 1892, Bed- 
ford, Pa., m. October 3, 1843; wf. Maria Catharine Reed, b. 1819, d. 1900, 
da. of Michael Reed (of the Rieths of the Tulpehocken); c, John George, 
b. 1844, d. 1894, single, dentist; Michael Reed, b. 1846; Luther Weiser, b. 
1849, d. 1904, druggist; Jacob Frank, b. 1852, d. 1890, attorney; Salome 
Jane, b. 1855, wf. of F. W. Jordan, druggist, Bedford, Pa.; Harry Schell, b. 
1860. 

Michaelo Reed Minnich, (John4 G., George3, Michael2, Peterl), m. Oc- 
tober 1, 1873; wf. Mary Emeline Lovell, b. 1852, d. 1911; issue: Elmer L., 
b. 1874, d. 1875; George W., b, 1876, d. 1889; Marie L., wife of Wm. L. 
Keplinger; Clara F., single; Charles H., wf. Lillian Snape. Two sons died 
in infancy. Keplinger issue: two sons, Wm. Lincoln, Jr., and Arthur F. 
Mrs. Minnich, da. of Emer Smith Lovell and Mary Cook Lee, was a lineal 
descendant of the Lovell, Borden, Feuner and Le Valley families of Rhode 
Island and Massachusetts. 

Michael Reed Minnich, City Missionary of the Evangelical Lutheran 
Church, Philadelphia, an A. B.; A. M.; of Gettysburg College, is an author- 
ity on Theology in church publications and an author of Historical and 
Biographical sketches, Penna. Ger, Soc, Vol. 5, p. 164. 

Simon Munch, of the Ship Lists, 1737, b. July 21, 1700, 
d. February 17, 1782. His wife, Catharine, b. January, 1700, 
d. December 12, 1773, both buried in the Little Tulpehocken 
cemetery (one and a half miles southwest of Bernville.) 
Simon Miinch was one of six trustees to organize this church, 
November 20, 1747, to whom was patented a tract of land as 
surveyed by warrant, May 17, 1774, of thirty acres. 

They had four sons and five daughters: John George, 
Michael, Christopher, Simon, George, and Maria Appolonia, 
m. to Jacob Wagner. 

A tract of land, situated in Bern Township, now in Penn 
Township, which was formed from Bern and Upper Bern 
Townships, in 1841, Upper Bern having been taken from Bern 
in 1789, was first surveyed to Michael Ketner (Kedner), on 
warrant dated January 12, 1737. Survey returned to Simon 
"Munich," in a warrant, November 10, 1749. Simon Munich, 
by deed dated January 13, 1763, conveyed this tract to his son 
John George Michael Munich. The tract contained 156 acres 
and the adjoiners were Albrecht Strauss, Hans Cibber, John 
Kedner and Jacob Pyler. 



(Note 1— Patent Book A, A, Vol, 4, p. 404, Dept. of Internal Affairs, 
Harrisburg.) 



38o BLUE BOOK OF 

Allied Families 

August 25, 1806, there was patented to Francis Deator, 
a tract of land of 269 acres, 19 perches, in Pinegrove Town- 
ship, now in Schuylkill County. The tract was near the Sec- 
ond Mountain and was known as "Wheatfields" ; the adjoin- 
ers were : Adam Gebhart, John Spicker, d., Peter Bressler, 
Peter Scholl, and Henry Kephart. In the conveyance of the 
rights vested in Deator, there were three warrants, one of 
which, dated May 23, 1750, was granted to Simon "Minig," 
the Simon mentioned aforesaid. 

George^ Minnig (Simon^), settled in Hanover Township, 
Lancaster County, now Dauphin, where he is on the State 
Tax Lists of Lancaster County, from 1779 to 1782, and is 
credited with 100 and later with 145 acres of land. This 
township was included in Dauphin County, March 4, 1785.^ 

George Minnig died April, 1784. His will, (Dr. W. H. 
Egle's Notes and Queries, Vol. i, Third Series, from which 
other Minnich wills are quoted) gives his heirs as: wife, 
Catharine. Children : 

Simon, b. March 20, 1753; Catharine, b. June 5, 1754, m. Jacob Kramer; 
Margaret, b. May 24, 1758, m. John Zimmern; Susanna, m. Jacob Sichily; 
Elizabeth, m. Adam Weaver; Christina, George, Catharine Elizabeth, 

John^ George Michael Miinch (Simon^), m. Mary Mag- 
dalena Wagner, March 20, 1760. 

George Michael Munch and Mary Magdalena, his wife, 
sold property, April 12, 1793, in Bern Township, Berks 
County.^ 

George Michael Minich was a member of Captain Sebastian Emrich's 
Company, Bern Township, 3rd Battalion Berks County Militia; and George 
Minich was a member of Captain John Soder's Company, Bern Township, 
3rd Battalion Berks County Militia, as shown in the Accounts of the 
Lieutenants of Berks County with regard to the excise fines received 
from the several companies for the years 1777 to 1780. — (Vol. VI, 3d Ser- 
ies, Pennsylvania Archives.) 

Simon^ Miinch (Simon^). Of this man little is known. 

May 6, 1753, he and his wife appear as sponsors for Simon", 

son of George^ Munch, at the Little Tulpehocken church. His 



(Note 1— Penna. Archives, Vol. XVII, 3d Series.) 
(Note 2— Deed B. 13-15, p. 418.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 381 

Allied Families 

name does not appear on the tax lists of Bern Township. 
He may have dispossessed himself of his property early or 
migrated to Northampton County. He had numerous de- 
scendants. 

Maria- Appolonia Miinch (Simoni), b. August 15, 1742, 
d. January 29, 181 5; buried in Christ church cemetery, 
Stouchsburg. Children : 

Susanna Catharine, b. May, 1761, bap. May 24; John Phillip, b. No- 
vember 1, 1768, bap. November 21; Maria Margaret, b. November 8, 1762, 
bap. November 21. 

Maria Appolonia was married to Jacob Wagner, June 29, 1760.^ — 
f Christ Church records.) 

John Jacob Wagner, b. November 22, 1762; bap. December 12. 

John Wagner, b. October 23, 1764; bap. December 9. 

They had five sons and five daughters, two baptized at Little Tulpe- 
hocken church. 

The graveyard of the Lutheran church, Chambersburg, Pa., tomb- 
stone inscriptions show: 

Barbara Ann Minick, b. November 20, 1768; d. June 9, 1833; wife of 
Simon Minick. 

Michael Minnich, d. October 28, 1852, aged 80 years, 10 months, 28 
days; and wife Catharine, b. June 10, 1772, d. January 10, 1882. 

Michael Minnich, d. December 15, 1842, aged 40 years, 8 months, 3 
days; and wife Elizabeth, b. August 16, 1803; d. November 22, 1856. 

Tombstone inscriptions in the graveyard of the old Lutheran church, 
Rehrersburg, Berks County, Pa.: 

Catharine Minich, b. June 17, 1809; d. December 31, 1884; wife of 
Michael Potteiger, b. November 28, 1806; d. December 1, 1887. 

George^ Miinch (Simon^), m. Catharine Margaret Guth- 
man (Goodman), January 5, 1752. Two of his children, men- 
tioned in will, were baptized in the Little Tulpehocken church, 
Simon^, b. March 20, 1753; Catharine Margaret, b. June 5, 
1754. 

A George Menig, cordwainer, on the tax lists, of Bern 
Township, from 1779 to 1784. His family consisted of four 
persons in 1784. Another George is also noted as a weaver. 
Letters of administration were granted Catharine, relict of 
George Minnich, of Manheim Township, weaver, May 4, 
1805.^ 



(Note 1— B. 6, p. 190.) 



382 BLUE BOOK OF 

Allied Families 

Rev. George^ P. Minnich (George^, Simon^) was born in 
Lancaster County August 12, 1773; d. April 7, 1851, wf. Eliza- 
beth Goepfert, b. Lancaster Co., June 10, 1774, d. February 
27, 1849. He was a Lutheran preacher, serving the early 
Lutheran churches in what is now Schuylkill County, in 
East Brunswick, the Red church, St. Jacob's, near Pinegrovc, 
and St. John's, at Friedensburg. He also preached in Min- 
ersville and in the log school house near where Joyce's hot- 
house stands, Pottsville, in the early days of the 19th cen- 
tury. His tombstone says : "He preached 1633 sermons, con- 
firmed 1733 and baptized 1631 persons." He owned a farm 
at Friedensburg where the family lived until his retirement, 
when he sold the farm and removed to Bernville, where he 
and his wife are buried. His children were: Rev. William 
Mennig, Jacob Mennig, Margaret Mennig, b. April ly, 1809, 
d. August 20, 1836, m. Isaac Christ; Maria Mennig, b. July 
31, 1802, d. June 3, 1850, m. Jacob Ditzler; parents of Rev. 
J. M. Deitzler, George Minnich respelled his name several 
times, finally adopting "Mennig." 

A path across the Blue Mountains, which Mr. Mennig 
used during his itinerancy in the early Berks County 
churches and which he followed on horseback, is still known 
as "Minnich's Path." 

Edward Mennig, painter, of Pottsville, aged 70, and a 
soldier in the Civil War, and member of Gowen Post, is a 
grandson of Jacob Mennig, (War of 1812), of Friedensburg, 
and g. g. son of Rev. George Mennig. 

Jacob, of Friedensburg, was a soldier of the War of 
1812 (Military History on previous page). From Jacob Men- 
nig and Rev. George Mennig are descended the Schuylkill 
Haven branch, among them W. H, Mennig, one of the pub- 
lishers of the Schuylkill Haven "Call." John Simon Muench, 
b. July 21, d. February 17, 1782, is buried at Bernville; wife 
Catharine, b. January, 1700, d. December 12, 1773, is also 
buried there. 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 383 

Allied Families 



The Robesonia branch and many Minnichs of Reading, 
Allentown, and other cities in Penna., are descendants of 
Simon Muench, of near Bernville, spelling the name variously. 

Christopher- Minnich (Simoni). of Bernville. Will pro- 
bated 1806 (Book A, p. 515)- Son. Benjamin, executor, d. 
1832. (Will Book 7, p. 60.) 

' John George Michael, b. February 6, 1758; John Philip, b. Novem- 
ber 1, 1759; Maria Margaret, b. November 8, 1762. 

Christopher2 Minnich (Simonl), b. about 1737; d 1806; his will be- 
ing probated in that year. He m. Anna Barbara Holder, of Bern, March 
6, 1757; c, Benjamin, Jonathan, Christopher (Stoever's Records'), and sev- 
eral daughters. 

Christopher^, {Christohper2, Simonl), wf. Sarah. ^ ^u -^ 

Susanna Schoepler was the wf. of Benjamin Minnig, son of Christo- 
pher.— (Daniel's Corner church records), where are also recorded the fol- 
lowing children of John George Muench: . , ., , t iq 

Maria Catharine, b. April 28, 1768; Maria Elizabeth, b. June 18, 

1772 

Elizabeth Muennich, b. January 8, 1771; d. June 9, 1842; m., October 
27, 1792, Matthias Jaeckle (Yeakley), b. June 13, 1769; d. November 2, 

1852. . rr- , ^J ■ I- u 

Tombstone inscriptions in graveyard adjoining Zion s Union church, 
(Lutheran & Reformed), Womelsdorf, Berks County, Pa., show a Maria 
Barbara Minnig, b. March 6, 1765, d. April 25, 1845, and m. John Ben- 
nethun, b. March 15, 1765; d. December 22, 1828. She was a sister of 
Benjamin and Jonathan Minnig, and a daughter of Christopher. 

Christopher Minnich, on the Company Lists as Chris- 
tian, was a Sergeant in Captain Ferdinand Ritter's Com- 
pany, Lieut. Col. Joseph Hiester's 6th Battalion, Berks 
County Militia, in service, Revolutionary W^ar, from August 
lo to September g, 1780.^ 

The first child of Christopher and Anna Miinch was 
John George Michael, b. February 6, 1758; bap. March 5. 

Sponsors, John George Michael Miinch (Simon) and 

Strauss (Bern church). 

From the records of Bern Church, Bern Township, 1739 
to 1835, Genealogical Society, Philadelphia: 

Children of Stophel (Christopher) Muench: Anna Mary, bap. No- 
vember 20, 1774; John Adam, bap. November 17, 1776. 

Children of Jost Muench: Elizabeth, bap. December 25, 1778. 

(Note 1 — Penna. Archives, 3rd Series, Vol. VI.) 



384 BLUE BOOK OF 

Allied Families 

Children of Jacob Muench: Catharine, b. January 31, 1785; bap. 
March 6, 1785. Sponsors, Stophel Muench and wife Sarah. 

John Jacob, b. January 16, 1787; bap. March 11. Sponsors, Jona- 
than Muench and Eva Lerch. 

Rev. Wm.4 G. Minnich (Rev. George^ P. Miinch, George,- 
Simon^), b. February 16, 181 1, at Annville, Lebanon County. 
He grew up at the family home on a farm near Friedensburg, 
Schuylkill County, his father being pastor of Jacob's, St. Pe- 
ter's, Hetzel's, Summer Hill, Zion's and St. John's Friedens- 
burg, Lutheran congregations. Wm. Minnich, as he then 
spelled his name having changed it from Muench, as he 
sometimes signed it, w^as licensed to the Lutheran Ministeri- 
um of Pennsylvania, 1836, and assisted his father in that 
field. In 1836 he moved to Pottsville, a Lutheran congrega- 
tion having been formed here, 1834. They united with the 
German Reformed people and built a small frame church on 
the site. North Third Street, upon which stands the present 
handsome edifice, Trinity Lutheran church, Dr. J. H. Um- 
benhen, pastor. The corner stone was laid June 18, 1837. 
Mr Mennig labored in Pottsville until 1859, gradually relin- 
quishing the country congregations and concentrating his 
work on the churches, in Schuylkill Haven, Spring Garden, 
Minersville and other towns which he founded, there now 
being twenty odd German and English Lutheran congrega- 
tions in the field he once filled. About twenty-five years' ser- 
vice he accepted a call from St. Paul's church, Allentown, and 
removed to that city. 

He was thrice married. His first wife, Rebecca Seller, 
died, 1858. Issue: four children deceased, and two sons, 
Luther, d. August, 1914, and Augustus W., Allentown, and 
two daughters, Mrs. A. F. Barber, d., and Mrs. Thos. D, 
Wilcox, of Freeport, 111. Second wife, Mrs. Sarah A. 
Weaver, m. 1861, d. 1875. Third wife, Amanda Bachman, 
who survived him. William G. Minnich died July 15, 1877, 
at Allentown, after forty-one years of active service in the 
ministry. He was in many respects a remarkable man and a 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 385 

Allied Families 

most zealous advocate of the religious cause and principles 
he espoused. His labors partook of the nature of those of a 
missionary. He opposed formalism in worship and was a 
promoter of piety in the Lutheran churches of which he had 
charge. Largely self-educated, he was richly endowed with 
spirituality and his discourses were conceived and endowed 
with poetic imagery and original theories that drew to 
him hearers, in Pottsville, fifty years ago, that were mem- 
bers of other orthodox denominations, but like others, loved 
him for his kindliness of heart and for the fervor of the love 
of God and the church that burned within him. 

(George, Augustus and Luther, the latter for four years, 
were all soldiers in the Civil War.) 

Jonathan^ Minnig, (Christopher-, Simoni), b. February 
24, 1764, d. April 24, 1844, married twice; m. Susanna Lasch, 
b. April 21, 1771, d. March 10, 1838; no children. His first 
wife was a sister of Anna Maria Lasch, b. 1769, d. 1829, wife 
of John Gruber, b. 1769; d. 1840. Tombstones Daniel's 
Corner Church, Robesonia. 

Benjamin^ Minnig, (Christopher^, Simon^), b. March 17, 
1776, d. September 23, 1832; wf. Susanna Schoepler, m. 1791, 
b. October 4, 1775, d. September 23, 1832. Issue, five sons 
and five daughters; Jacob, b. February 18, 1806, d. June 14, 
1878; m. Elizabeth Potteiger, b. March 12, 1812, d. May 31, 
1880 ; c, Adam and Elenora, who married Jonathan L. Klopp. 

Jacob^ Minnig, (Benjamin^, Christopher^, Simon^), his 
first w'lie was Isabella, da. of Daniel Klopp. (Daniel Klopp, 
of Berks County, was an early settler of Pottsville. He had 
a butcher's stall in the first market house, and kept a shop 
in the building now used as an office by Dr. G. R. Corson. 
He weighed over three hundred pounds and was a very dig- 
nified man acting as chief burgess of the town for a time. In 
his shop he wore a tall silk hat while cutting meat and ser\ang 



386 BLUE BOOK OF 

Allied Families 

customers.) Jacob's second wife was Margaret Leiss, b. in 
Heidelberg- Township, January 29, 1836, m. November i, 
1856. 

Adam"^ Minnig (Jacob*, Benjamin-', Christopher-, Simon^), 

b. October 11, 1834, d. December 16, 1904. He was married 
to Isabella Henrietta Klopp, b. January 29, 1836, d. January 
12, 1898. Their children were Deborah, wf. of Rev. A. John- 
son Long, d., for a number of years in charge of the Bethany 
Orphans' Home of the Reformed church at Womelsdorf. 
Children, Laura, m. to Harry Stauflfer, Middletown ; Mabel, m. 
to Joseph Kalbach, Chambersburg ; Anna, m. John Yerger, 
Shillington. Mrs. Long lives at Robesonia and at Chambers- 
burg with her daughters. 

Charles^ Oscar Minnig (Adam', Jacob', Benjamin^, 
Christopher-, Simon^), Robesonia, b. September 26, i860, m. 
Emmeline A. Kalbach, August 27, 1881, b. August 19, 1865; 

c, Lloyd, Constance, Salome, Eugene, Willis, James, living 
and five deceased. Salome m. Calvin C. Master; Eugene m. 
Annie Kreider. Mr. Minnig is a cement contractor and paver 
living at Robesonia. 

(The author is indebted to him and to his son for data of the Chris- 
topher Minnich line, of which he has a collection of baptismal and mar- 
riage records.) 

The tombstone inscriptions in the new cemetery at Hummelstown, 
Dauphin County, Pa., show the following: 

Wendel Minnich, b. September 25, 1725, d. September 5, 1781. 

Wife of Wendel Minnich, b. February 25, 1731; d. 1783. 

Barbara Minnich, da. of Wendell, b. 1768; d. March 11, 1823. 

Wendel Minnich, Jr., b. 1755; d. February 14, 1820. 

Wendel Manig, of the Ship Lists, September 5, 1751, is 
shown on the State Tax Lists and Census of Derry Township, 
Dauphin County, with 10 to 40 acres of land, March 4, 1785, 
with two male persons above 16 years and two under sixteen 
years and two females, the name is spelled Menich. Wendel 
Minnich, of Derry, died 1781. His sons, according to the cen- 
sus, were George and Wendle Minnich, of Derry. 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 387 

Allied Families 



Constantine Menach is shown as a taxable in Strasburg 
Township, Lancaster County, from 1779 to 1782. 

Among the soldiers of the Pennsylvania Line in the Revolutionary 
War, who were entitled to "Donation Lands" in the northwestern part of 
Pennsylvania, provided by an Act of the General Assembly, of the State, 
of December 12, 1783, and the Purchase of 1784, as published in Vol. Ill, 
3rd Series, Pennsylvania Archives, under "Retui'n of the Pennsylvania 
Line, Entitled to Donation Lands Reported by the Late Comptroller" there 
is shown (page 704): 

Peter Minick, Private, Hughes Company, 200 acres of land. 

This Peter Minnich was doubtless the Peter of the 1790 census, as of 
Allen Township, Northampton County. The tombstone inscriptions in the 
old Egypt Church graveyard, at Egypt, Lehigh County (Northampton prior 
to March 6, 1812), Pa., show the children of Peter Minnich to have been: 

John Minnich, b. September 4, 1778; d. October 4, 1863; son of Peter 
and Sybilla Minnich. 

Susanna Minnich (wife of John), b. February 26, 1777; d. January 16, 
1854; 9 children. 

Maria Minnich, (Braun), b. March 31, 1805; d. December 9, 1847; 
wife of Michael Minnich; 9 children. 

Lutheran church record, Campbelltown, Lebanon County, 
(Dauphin prior to February i6, 1813), names a John Muench 
who had a son Samuel born in August, 1801, John was doubt- 
less the son of Peter. 

The early Proprietary and State Tax Lists and the first 
census report taken in Pennsylvania, 1790, contain many 
more Minnich names. 



PHILADELPHIA BRANCH OF MUENCHS 



PASSPORT OF CONRAD MINNICH, OF PHILA. 

The passport of Conrad Miinch, in possession of J. F. 
Mynich, Lynbrook, Long Island, N. Y., divested of its tech- 
nical form, states that: "Conrad Miinch, of Mechtersheimer, 
near Speyer, his wife and his brother Gottfreid Miinch do 
intend to settle in the New England (U. S.)" Then follows 
the usual form that they should be permitted to "pass with- 
out hinderance." The passport is signed by the "Burgermeis- 



388 BLUE BOOK OF 

Allied Families 

ter" in the name of the "Rath (Town Council) of the free 
city of Speyer, of the Holy Roman Empire," x-Vpril 25, 1765. 
(Speyer, under the old division of Germany, was near Ba- 
varia.) He arrived August 24, 1765, ship Polly, Robert Por- 
ter, master, from Rotterdam."" 

Conrad Mynich (as this branch spells it), died 1798. A 
bill of sale dated February 9, 1799, shows that he died pos- 
sessed of two houses in North Liberties, Philadelphia, which 
were sold at auction. Jacob Mynich, his son, was the admin- 
istrator^. No other children named ; wife, Margaret. 

A notice served on Jacob Mynich to attend a meeting 
March 4, 1818, shows that he was an active member of a so- 
ciety, connected with the Dutch Reformed Church then lo- 
cated at Fifth and Cherry St., Philadelphia, and buried in the 
burial ground near Tenth and Race, from which the bodies 
were removed on the sale of the ground and re-interred else- 
where. Conrad Miinch died in Philadelphia, and his body 
and that of his son Jacob and others of the family were re- 
moved from the above and re-interred in Laurel Hill ceme- 
tery. 

There is a tradition in the Mynich family that their grand- 
father served in the Revolutionary War. He is doubtless the 
Conrad "Minnig," private of the Continental Line. Depre- 
ciation pay.^ 

Of this branch of the Miinchs are those of that name at 
Harrisburg, Indianapolis, Ind., the Minnichs of Gettysburg 
and others of that name, variously spelled, in Philadelphia, 
Reading and elsewhere. 

August 24, 1728, there landed at Philadelphia, John 
Christopher Meng. According to the Pennsylvania Magazine 
of History and Biography, 1882, Vol. VI, pages 398-401, he 
was born in Manheim, Germany, in 1697, and married on June 



(Note 1 — Penna. Archives, 2d Series, Vol. 17, p. 471.) 

(Note 2— Will Book "H," p. 357.) 

(Note 3— Fifth Series, Penna. Archives, Vol. IV, p. 264.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 389 

Allied Families 

29, 1723, Anna Dorothea Baumann. He settled and lived in 
Germantown, Philadelphia, Pa. Among his children were 
Melchior Meng, given in the Census of Pennsylvania, v^ho 
died October 13, 1812, in the 82nd year of his age; and John 
Meng, a portrait painter of more than ordinary promise, who 
died at the age of 20 years, having been born February 6, 1734. 
The name Meng may, however, have no connection with the 
name Muench ; but the brief sketch of the Mengs in the maga- 
zine referred to is interesting reading. 

p. F. Mynich, b. August 20, 1833, (Daniel^ Jacob^, Con- 
rad^, m. October, 1895) ; m. twice, second wife, Mrs. Frances 
Price, son Walter, issue of first marriage. Mr. Mynich was 
born in Philadelphia, the family subsequently removing to 
Wilmington, Del., where he was raised. He was a master 
painter and decorator and was employed as such by the Bal- 
timore Central, W. C. and Phila., Mexican Central and Mexi- 
can National Railways, and also at the Brooklyn U. S. Navy 
Yard. During the Civil War he was Engineer Yeoman, of 
the Wyalusing U. S. North Atlantic squadron. Mr. Mynich 
is a 32d deg. Mason and in the year 1876 visited Europe as a 
special representative of the Grand Master of Masons, to the 
Grand Lodges of England, Scotland and Ireland. His home 
is in Brooklyn, N. Y. ; he is at present, at the age of 79 years, 
living at Lynbrook, Long Island. N. Y. His wife, too, is still 
living. 

Jacob^ Mynich, (Conrad^), m. Barbara Epis; c, Joseph 
and Daniel. Jacob- Mynich and Joseph, his son, were sol- 
diers in the War of i8i2-'i5. The latter died from a disease 
contracted from exposure in that war. Jacob^ Mynich died 
1830. Church records, Dutch Reformed Church, 5th and 
Cherry Sts., Philadelphia. 

Joseph Mynich's children, Jacob and Julianna, both died 
unmarried. Jacob is buried in Laurel Hill cemetery, Phila- 
delphia. 



390 BLUE BOOK OF 

Allied Families 

Daniel Mynich m. Ann Crawford Woodcock; c, Eliza, 
who died at the age of 83, unmarried ; William died in in- 
fancy; Emma Julianna m. Willis S. Holden, a first cousin, 
son of her mother's sister; Eliza d. 191 1; issue: Cora C, d., 
and William W. Holden, of Wilmington, Del. 

Jacob-* F. Mynich (Joseph^, Jacob^, Conrad^), m. Laura 
Ophelia Meyers, December 24, 1854, d. April 20, 1855. He 
m. Sarah E. Martin, January, 1862; d. 1893; c, Howard N., 
b. 1863, of Reading; Clara Ada May, m. Charles Hoxie, 
Fairville, Chester Co.; Gen. L. Z. Manager, New York, sin- 
gle; Leila Annie, m. John McBride, Richardson Park, New 
Castle Co., Del. ; C. Frank Mynich, postal clerk, m., Richard- 
son Park, New Castle Co., Wilmington, Del. 

(The author is indebted to J. F. Mynich, Brooklyn, N. Y., for the 
above data and for the use of the manuscript and letters which follow 
that establish the facts. The lettei's were translated from the German 
by "Herr" August Knecht, of Pottsville, former editor and publisher of 
the "Amerikanischer Republikaner.") 



Philadelphia, March 15, 1784. 

Our friendly gi'eetings to our dear father, Gottfried Muench, and to 
our dear mother and to our dear brothers, Simon and Jacob, and to our 
dear sister, Catherina, and to Margaretha Elisabetha and to our dear 
brother-in-laws, Jacob Detrich and Chriatophel Adolf and to our dear 
sister, Eva Margaretha. We send you all a thousand greetings. 

We cannot fail at this good opportunity to write you and we hope 
that these few lines will reach you in good health, the knowledge of which 
would afford us sincere pleasure. As regards us, we are, thanks to God, 
getting along vex-y well. Now, we beg of you, that you inform us, through 
this opportunity, how it is with you, which we heartily desire to know, 
when so far apart, friends are glad to hear from one another. 

"We are all living in the city of Philadelphia and can amply support 
ourselves. Now, we beg of you, dear brothers and sisters, to write to us, 
as we have not heard anything from you, and you nothing from us, and 
we hope that it affords you as much pleasure to hear from us as it will 
us to hear from you. We have nothing further to write this time. We 
commend you all to the protection of God the most High. 

Herewith we remain your faithful brothers unto death. 

Conrad Muench, 
Gottfreid Muench. 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 39^ 

Allied Families 

Waldorf, June 11, 1790. 
Both brothers-in-law and their families, our friendliest greeting! 

This opportunity! which we have through the presence of the Ameri- 
can, Mr. Peter Ulrich, a native of this place, to send a letter to our 
esteemed friends in America, in the city of Philadelphia, is in part our 
greatest pleasure and would become complete if this would reach our 
dearest friends in good health, as we sincerely wish. 

As to ourselves, we enjoy, thank God, good health. My family con- 
sists of four children, to wit: three sons and one daughter, the latter 
being married to the son of a citizen of this place by the name of Adam 
Abel and they are living happily together which is a source of pleasure 
to all parents to have their children entered into such peaceful matri- 
mony. The three sons are still single, the eldest of them having firmly 
resolved to emigrate to America with the said Mr. Peter Ulrich, which 
we would have permitted him to do, if we could feel assured that he 
would make his journey in safety, he having no doubt about his welcome 
reception by his esteemed friends. He is an expert in the profession 
which he learned, so that he can succeed in it. If, therefore, through the 
said Mr. Ulrich, who contemplates, within a few years to return from 
America to his native land, we should receive a communication from our 
friends, informing us of their well-being, it would afford us great pleas- 
ure and honor. We would beg them to infoi'm us especially what the 
transportation across the ocean costs and whether they would advise 
us to let one of our sons make the journey to America. 

We know of nothing further to communicate but this, that our 
dear brother-in-law, Deneig, on the Mechlersheimerhof, has passed from 
time into eternity. 

In conclusion we wish you, wider repeated, most friendly g^reet- 
ings, continuous good health and happiness and commend you to the 
protection of the Most High. 

Margaretha Elisabeth, 
Christophel Adolf. 



Mechtersheim, August 4, 1810. 
Dear sister and the rest of the dear friends! 

This letter which you will receive through Mr. Ulrich, of Waldorf, 
we sincerely hope will reach you all in good health, which will give us 
all great pleasure. With sorrow we have heard through him of the death 
of our two brothers (Conrad and Gottfried) in America, leaving my wife 
(Margaretha Elisabetha) the only one of the Muench brothers and sisters 
to survive by the gi'ace of God. Sister Catherine died over thirty years 
ago and her son Frederick followed her in death seventeen years ago, 
leaving four childi-en to survive him. The daughter, Doi'othea, who was 
deaf and dumb, died a half year ago, leaving only one of the four chil- 
dren, Esther, who is, thank God living happy and contented with her hus- 
band. May Providence grant them many years of health and happiness 
together. The brother died at Weiller three years ago. We have heard 
nothing from Phillip to the present day and do not know whether he is 
living or dead. 



(Note 1 — There were no mail connections between this country and 
the old world.) 



392 BLUE BOOK OF 

Allied Families 



We are, thank God, in pretty good health, as good as you can expect 
from old age, as old people are aflFlicted with many kinds of ailments. 
We have yet two sons and one daughter living, all married and are get- 
ting along pretty well. We wish and hope that the two families (Conrad 
and Gottfried's) that had a disagreement, have again become united and 
remain good friends, it being best when brethren and the brethren's 
children live in friendship together and forget old animosities. 

You have doubtless heard of the great revolution which has affected 
nearly all Europe. We also suffered through the war but the country 
about here has nearly recovered from the devastation and we are living 
happy under the French government. If you should honor us with an- 
other letter, write under my address at Mechtersheim. 

Finally, you will accept friendly greetings, those of my family, wife 
and children. I commend you to the protection of God, and remain as 
ever your sincere friend and brother-in-law. 

Christoph Adolph, 
Margaretha Elisabetha 
Muench. 



Mechtersheim, bei Speier, in the Palatina, Kingdom of Bavaria on the 
Rhine, March 7, 1822. 

Unknown but nevertheless dear relatives and friends: 

I give many greetings dearly beloved cousin, Jacob Minnich, I hope 
my letter will find you still hale and hearty and among the living. I 
have no news to report, but that my mother died, January 14, 1822, she 
having come into the world, April 18, 1739. 

Concerning myself and family, I can say we are all in good health. 

It was well for my mother that I was living. I was with her, I and 
my wife, for three weeks day and night, we did all in our power for her. 
She said, "if she could only live long enough to hear again from our 
friends in America," but it was "Thy will not my will be done." 

My dear son, Jacob Adolph:— I had to attend to the draft for you 
and at the inspection when your name was called, I stepped up. The com- 
missioner said: "Are you the father of Jacob Adolph? I answered "yes." 
Then some one said "write to him." Mr. Thierman gave me your number 
215 with "soldier" on it. Jacob Moser, Daniel Aot, Fi'ederic Vant and 
your cousin Christopel are all soldiers. 

Grain is very cheap but you would not believe that money is scarce. 
It is my desire that you write soon, that I may hear how my son looks, 
whether he is obedient or not, whether he follows his profession or how he 
sustains himself. It may easily be that he is better off than in our coun- 
try, because there is nothing here neither in the professions or in agri- 
culture. 

One thing I beg of you, cousin Jacob Minnich, when you write again, 
let me know how it is with the youngest brother, Gottfreid Muench, and 
his family and tell them they should write a few lines to us. I and my 
family long to hear from all the freundschaft. 

My mother's brothers and sisters are all dead except her stepsister, 
Dorothea Muench, who is a widow, in Grossasen and she is also anxious 
to hear from the family in America. This is the second letter I have 




JOHN MICHAEL STOUDT HOMESTEAD, SETTLED 1736. 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 393 

Allied Families 

written to you within a year. Mr. Fux from Speier, came to me and said, 
I should not close this letter as he would like to send one with it for Mr. 
Gund. 

I have been sorry for this, for Fux acted cruelly and I am afraid 
because the Gunds here said they would write to their cousin in America 
and Fux said, "he would write a letter, too, to Mr. Gund, that he would 
not place in the window." 

I beg of you, much beloved cousins, that you will take care of my 
son, John Jacob Adolph. I must banish it from my mind but he was 
always so thoughtful for his father. It hurts me to my heart, when you 
raise up children and then have no support in your old age. If he does 
not like it in America, I beg of you, dear cousins, that you will assist him 
to return, but he should consider it well first. It is his fate and "What 
God does is well done. His will remains just." I commend you all to 
Kind Providence. So much from your unknown friend and cousin. 

Frederick Adolph. 

(Two Minnich genealogists having confessed their ina- 
bility to "unravel the tangled skein" of the two Conrad 
Muenchs and the numerous Jacobs, the author takes a par- 
donable pride and pleasure in presenting the above history 
as the true solution of the generic difference.) 



THE STAUDTS, STOUDTS, STOUTS 



Allied With the Miller, Filbert, Kerschner, Lerch, Ebling, 

Snyder, Maurer, Wagner, and Other Early 

Pennsylvania Families 

Tradition among family connections in Germany traces 
the Staudt family in Pennsylvania back to 1380, but unfortu- 
nately the full documentary evidence is lacking. The three 
Staudts, ubiquitous in the history of so many early families 
of this Commonwealth, John Michael, John and Mathias 
Staudt, came from the Chur Pfalz, in the Palatinate, Ger- 
many, ibeptember 15, 1733.^ 

(Note 1— Ship Lists, History of the Filberts, Montgomery's New 
History, gives John Jacob Stoudt and Johannes Stoudt as having, with 
Samuel Filbert, Peter and Simon Minnich come over on the Ship Samuel, 
Hugh Percy, Master, from Rotterdam, qualified August 30th, 1737. 



394 BLUE BOOK OF 

Allied Families 

John Michael Stout took the oath of allegiance to the 
British government. April lo, 1761. Stout's Hill, located at 
the great bend of the Schuylkill river, about six miles north 
of Reading, Avas named after this man. 

(Note — Scull's or Sculp's Hill, near Schuylkill Haven, was named for 
Nicholas Scull, the surveyor.) 

John Michael Staut, b. 1712, d. May 13, 1776; \vf., Bar- 
bara ; c, John, Jacob, Michael, George Wilhelm, John George, 
Jost, Anna Barbara. Catherine, Apolonia, Catherine, Elisa- 
beth. 

Johannes2 (Johnl Michael), b. 1737; d. 1826; wf., Maria Catharine 
Kerschner; c, George, Catharine, m. Henry Rudy; Barbara, m. George 
Snyder; Elisabeth, m. Daniel Maurer; John, Daniel, Samuel. 

Jacob, b. 1738; d. 1802; wf., Margaret; c, John Adam, Adam, John 
Henry, Barbara. Mary, Catharine Elizabeth, wf. of William Ebling. 

Michael Stout, b. 1742; d. 1807; wf., Elisabeth Brown, b. 1758; d. 
1820, at Homestead, Bern. Four sons and five daughters. 

George William Staudt, b. 1748; d. 1820; wf., Christina Weidenham- 
raer, b. 1752, d. 1820, Maidencreek; c. George, Margaret, Madelina wf. of 
George Stoudt, of Rehersburg (son of Johannes), Daniel, Maria, Adam, 
Jacob, Catherine. 

John George Stoudt. wf. Anna Margaret, d. 1818. (W. B. Vol 8, pp. 
197-170). Lived in Tulpehocken Twp. 

Jost Stoudt, wf. Mary Elizabeth, Bern Twp. C, Jacob, Margretha, 
Catherine, Anna Barbara, Magdelena. 

Anna Barbara, m. Baltzer Lerch, Berne; seven children: Catharine, 
m. Christopher Lerch, Heidelberg; Appolonia, m. Daniel Aurand, Buffalo 
Valley; Catherine Elisabeth, m. Peter Weise, Berne. 

Johannes Stoudt, the second of the immigrants (1733). 
(1. 1773. He was a taxable in Pinegrove Twp., Berks County. 
1759. His estate was settled 1777 and '78^ and shows that he 
left four children, namely John, of age, Daniel and Jacob, over 
fourteen ; Anna Margaret, under fourteen. Their guardians 
were from Maiden Creek. 

John and Daniel Stoudt were taxpayers in Manheim, 
t8oi-'o9. John Stoudt, Jr., settled on a tract of land of one 
hundred acres, referred to in the deed book as being in Bruns- 
wick Township, and is doubtless the same tract warranted to 

(Note 1 — Berks County Court Record, B. 2, pp. 222, 224.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 395 

Allied Families 

his father and upon which he paid taxes, 1759. This land 

adjoined that of Heinrich and Andrew Miller, Sr., (Bear Ridge, 

between Auburn and Jefferson.) 

(The division of Brunswick was confirmed, 1791, Manheim being erect- 
ed 1789.) 

Mathias Stout, of the Township of Bern, in the County 
of Berks, Yeoman, "cousin," and principal creditor to John 
Stoudt, Sr., late of Brunswick Township, Berks County, had 
letters granted him, August 13, 1773^ and as above shown, it 
was not settled until 1777. 

Mathias Stoudt, the third of the immigrants (1733), b. 

1725, d. 1795; wf. Anna Maria Schrader, b. October 13, 1728; 

d. May 22, 1797; c, John, Abraham, Mathias, Catharine, Maria, 

Anna Elisabeth, wf. of Andrew Miller. 

CNote — There is a tradition in the family that Mathias and John 
Michael were brothers and that their father died at sea, Mathias being five 
years old, and that John Stoudt, Sr., was a cousin, which is corroborated 
above.) 

Abraham^ (Mathias^), b. 1757, d. November 24, 1824; wf,, 
Mary Magdelena Hartzell; c, Mathias, John, Jacob and Elis- 
abeth ; wf. of Conrad Christ, Bern Township. 

Mathias Stout's will states that his wife, Anna Margaret, 
snould be amply provided for during her life. His plantation, 
grist, saw and hemp mill, partly in Bern and Heidelberg 
Townships, adjoining lands of John Dundore, Anthony Bickle 
and Joseph Obold, on the Tulpehocken, thirty-six acres, 
charging John Stout, his eldest son, nine hundred and fifty 
pounds. To Mathias, Jr., he gave 135 acres of land, partly in 
Bern and Heidelberg. Abraham got four hundred pounds; 
Catharine, wife of Thomas Umbenhauer, founder of Bernville, 
the same, and Elizabeth, four hundred pounds. The balance 
to be divided between the above ; no other heirs are mentioned 
in the will, they probably having been provided for prior to 
that date. This John Stoudt was an ensign and afterward 
captain in the Revolutionary War, from Bern Township. 

(Note 1— B. 3, p. 102.) 



396 BLUE BOOK OF 

Allied Families 

Capt. John Stout was ne\'er married. 

(Note — Heidelberg Township, in Berks County, was a part of Heidel- 
berg Township, in Lancaster County, before 1752, and remained the same 
in Lancaster after the boundaries were made.) 

The children of Catharine and Thomas Umbenhauer 
were : Catharine, Magdalena, Anna Maria, Susanna. The mul- 
tiplicity of Johns and Elizabeths in the Stoudt family will be 
noted. The Stoudts occupied prominent positions among the 
early settlers and were numerous in the Revolutionary War. 
There were about twelve immigrants in the first half of the 
eighteenth century and they were said to have all been of the 
same origin. The similarity of names among their descend- 
ants of the second generation makes it almost impossible to 
classify them. The spelling of the name has no primal sig- 
nificance. Many are buried at the old church in Bern. The 
Staudts were mainly of the Reformed faith. 

JohnS (John2, John^ Michael), b. 1756, d. 1823. In the 
census of 1790 he is credited with one son over sixteen and 
several daughters. He was a petitioner for his father's estate 
for an inquest, 1777, and the original papers are on file, when 
his father's cousin, the principal creditor, was made adminis- 
trator. 

John Stout, of Manheim Township, Schuylkill County, 
died, intestate, August 20, T823. Heirs, John, Mary, Maria, 
Peggy and Elizabeth, Mary, wf. of Henry Werner, who was 
administrator, the widow, Anna Maria, renouncing. The es- 
tate contained about 190 acres and partition was made among 
the heirs. The petitioners refused to accept the land at the 
value appraised and it was sold according to law, at Or- 
phans' Court, July 31, 1828^. Elizabeth Stout, a minor, mar- 
ried Kemmerling. 

John-* Stout, b. December 13, 1786, d. May 21, 1855. 
(Zions' church records.) The same records also show his 
father, John Stoudt, to have stood sponsor at a baptism, 1779. 

(Note 1— Orphans' Court Book 1, Schuylkill Co. C. H.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 397 

Allied Families 

DanieP Staudt, (Johanniss-, John^ Michael), brother of 
John", lived in Manheim Townshjip, near what is now Land- 
ingville ; wf., Maria Salome. I'hey baptized the following 

children: da. , b. October 20, 1783, d. 1841 ; George Wil- 

helm, bap. May 5, 1792 ; Jacob, bap. March 7, 1795 ; Maria, bap. 
July, 1796; Catharine, bap. Feoruary 9, 1798; another, Su- 
sanna, m. John Schaeflfer ; Peter, bap. March 30, 1804; Henry, 
bap. February, 1806.1 

Daniel Staudt gave seven shillings six pence to the 
Summer Berg church, 1799. 

There was also a Phillip Stoudt living in Pinegrove 
Township, near the Lebanon County line, who at the census, 
1790, had two sons and six girls living. Daniel Stoudt died 
18252. Phillip had an Elizabeth among his daughters. 

MARRIAGES IN PENNA. ARCHIVES 

1775, December 8, Stout, John Henry, to Margaret Calan. 
1778, May 1, Stout, Elizabeth, to Elijah Crawford. 
1765, September 20, Stout, Sarah, to Abraham Freid. 
1772, October 21, Stout, Abraham, to Mary Magdelena Hartzell. 
1772, September 3, Stout, Brightwed, to William Nichols. 
(2nd Series, Vol. 2. The marriages of about fifty Millers occur in 
the same volume.) 

LAND WARRANTS IN LANCASTER 

Land warrants in Lancaster, Lebanon, Dauphin, now Lebanon Coun- 
ty, are as follows: 

1733, March 21, 200 acres, warranted to Charles Stout. 

1734, March 30, 200 acres, warranted to Margaret Stout. 
1738, September 14, 300 acres, warranted to Charles Stout. 

1750, November 1, 60 acres, warranted to John Stout. 
1757, April 15, 25 acres, warranted to Michael Stout. 

1751, April 15, 60 acres, warranted to George Stout. 

Joseph and Samuel, (Jost, son of John Michael, and Samuel, son of 
Johannes2), were settlers of Bethel Township, Lancaster County, now 
Lebanon, formerly Dauphin, in 1751. 



(Note 1 — Red Church and Summer Berg church records.) 
(Note 2— W. B., Vol. 9, p. 298.) 



398 BLUE BOOK OF 

Allied Families 

THE MUELLERS (MILLERS) 



One of the Earliest Families in Schuylkill County 

The development of that part of Berks County, of which 
all but one-sixth now forms the component parts of Schuyl- 
kill County, must be conceded to the influence of the early 
German settlers. Brunswick Township was so called when 
the land it embraced belonged to Lancaster County and there 
were Muellers settled in it as early as 1742. They were An- 
dreas, Nicholas, Michael and Johannes. Andrew and 
Michael were probably only sojourners and lived in Bern 
Township, which then extended on both sides of the Blue 
Mountains. Johannes Miller, taxable, Brunswick, 1769; 
Peter, John and Adam, who were taxables in Pinegrove 
Township, 1754 and 1759, were doubtless sons of the pioneers, 
1742. The first mentioned, with Henry, may not have been 
brothers but there were congenital relations between them. 

Christina Mueller, b. in Brunswick Township, December 
II, 1742, d. July 26, 1816^; was a daughter of one of the above, 
either Andreas or Nicholas. 

The Red Church records begin 1755. Services were held 
there before that date. Johannes Miller baptized children 
there from 1766. There are no records kept between 1757 and 
1765, the date of the Indian scare and burning of the church. 

Johan Gottfried Orwig (Orbich) was born, 1720, in 
Nassau Wildburg Dorf, Maren-Weilburg; d. May 26, 1804. 
He came to Pennsylvania before 1745 and settled in Bruns- 
wick Township about that date. He and his wife, Gloria, 
baptized a number of children. Michael Teubert (Deibert), 
Paul Heim, Joseph Finscher, Valentine Dress and other 
names occur in the early Red Church records, among them : 

(Note 1 — Zion's, Red Church records.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 399 

Allied Families 



Johannes and Magdalena Rickert, who baptized a son John, 

July 26, 1 78 1. 

(Note— Uncle of George Rickert, father of Col. Thomas Rickert, of 

Pottsville.) ^ ^ T.- , 4. 

Richard Rickert was the father of George Rickert. A Caspar Rickert 
was a settler in this vicinity, 1754, and John and Richard Rickert were 
probably sons of his. • tu 

The Red Church is situated in West Brunswick Township, in the 
southern part of Schuylkill County, one and one half miles southeast of 
Orwigsburg. , • • * * 

November 28, 1758, Michael Miller, Bern Township, administrator, 
to wf. Catharine, Berks Co., Vol. 1, Abstract of Wills, His. Soc, Phila.) 

HENRY MILLER 

Heinrich Mueller and wife JMagdalena came from the 
Rhine Pfalz, Oderscheini, Palatinate, Europe, August 15, 
1750, on the ship "Royal Union," Capt. Clement Nicholson, 
sailing from Rotterdam.^ He came directly to Eastern 
Pennsylvania to relatives in Bern Township, Lancaster 
County, going thence to Brunswick Township, in the same 
county. He settled in the valley between the Blue and Sec- 
ond and Sharp Mountains, on Bear Creek, near Bear Ridge, 
between what is now Auburn and Jefferson, Schuylkill 
County. The original tract was not patented until August 
12, 1774, and the parts of two other tracts were patented 
February 27, 1775, in the name of his son, Andreas Miller, by 
patent recorded^. Having transferred the patent rights of his 
land to his son Andreas, Heinrich Miller wrote his will, Sep- 
tember 22, 1775, which was probated December 15, 1778. 
(Abstract of Wills, Berks Co. 1 752-1 793, Vol. i. Penna. 
His. Soc, Phila. The will directs that Andreas gets every- 
thing and shall care for the mother, Magdalena, and that the 
daughter (no name mentioned) "must pay Andreas for her 
right to anything." 

Mrs. L. T. Medlar, Pottsville, a descendant, has in her possession a 
flask, of fine workmanship, brought over by the couple from Germany. 

(Note 1— Ship Lists, Penna. Archives, 2nd Series, Vol. XVII, p. 312.) 
(Note 2— Patent Book 53, p. 463, Harrisburg, Office of Internal Af- 
fairs. Recorded also B. A, A, Vol. 15, p. 110, Berks County C. H.) 



400 BLUE BOOK OF 

Allied Families 

There is no other record as to when or where Heinrich 
Miller died. He is doubtless buried at the Summer Hill 
church, where his wife, Magdalena, is interred, his grave 
being- among the many unnamed, the date of death being 
December, 1778. 

Magdalena, wife of Heinrich Miller, b. in Oderscheim, 
Rhine Pfalz, 1726, d. April 24, 1806.^ 

St. Paul's church, Summer Berg, South Manheim Township, three 
miles from Auburn, on the S. and S. railway, the Protocol says, was built 
in 1782. This was the second building, a small log house having stood 
on or near the site where now the third building, a handsome edifice is 
erected. The church was for the worship of the Reformed and Lutheran 
congregations alternately. It gives a complete list of the ministers who 
served, among them Rev. Phillip Meyer, Reformed, who officiated forty- 
seven years. 

At a meeting, March 7, 1780, to raise funds for the erec- 
tion, Andrew Miller is credited with having paid 6 shillings 9 
pence and subsequently 8 shillings 4 pence toward the build- 
ing. (One of the largest subscribers to the fund is crossed 
off as not having paid his one pound subscribed.) 

(The tax lists of Berks County were made up 1752, but were not en- 
forced until 1754. Heinrich Miller, taxable, north side of Blue Moun- 
tains, 1754.) 

There were altogether less than fifty persons east of the 
Schuylkill River between the Blue and the Sharp Mountain, 
when the Indian purchase, 1749, was made, one authority 
says, "only twenty-seven," and when the Indian troubles be- 
gan. After beginning their little clearings and erecting their 
humble log cabins they united, 1755, in building the first log 
church, known as the Zion's Lutheran or Red church, which 
was reduced to ashes by the Indians, 1757. 

Here were born the two first children of Heinrich and 
Magdalena Miller. Andrew, b. February 15, 1756, d. January 
23, 1842, tombstone. Reformed (White) church cemetery, Or- 

(Note 1 — Summer Hill church records.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 401 

Allied Families 

wigsburg, and Johannes, three weeks old, bap. April 21, 1757; 
sponsors, Johannes and Barbara Clouser."^ 

Of this Johannes nothing further is known, but he was 
probably killed by the Indians when they attacked the Miller 
home, or died from exposure in their flight across the moun- 
tains to Bern Township, where their third child, the daughter 
mentioned in the will was born.- 

Brunswick Township, Lancaster County, was inhabited 
as early as 1740, but it was not erected into a township before 
1768, when afterward (1810) were taken from it and Pine- 
grove Township, the seven townships that, with all but one- 
sixth, included all of the part now embraced in Schuylkill 
County. When in Lancaster County, Brunswick Township 
extended over the Blue Mountain, a small strip protruding 
over where Windsor and two other townships formed what 
was known as "Die Ecke" (the corner). 

The Indian Terror broke out in this locality November 
24, 1755. Up to this time the settlers had gone into hiding 
in the Block Houses and Forts Franklin and Lebanon and 
with friends across the mountain in Windsor and Bern Town- 
ships. In the fall of 1757 murder and rapine drove them to 
a refuge of safety and the Millers fled to Bern Township.^ 
They remained south of the Blue Mountains until 1765, when 
with a scattered remnant of their neighbors, the first pioneers, 
ihey returned to their homes in Brunswick Township (Braun- 
schweig.) After rebuilding their homes, many having re- 
turned to plant and harvest their crops in the interim, they 
rebuilt the log church, completed 1770. the present being the 
fourth church of that name.'^ 



(Note 1 — "Tag Buch," Rev. Daniel Schumacher, Archives Lutheran 
Ministerium, Mt. Airy, Phila., Pa.; Schuylkill County Historical Society 
Publication, Vol. 2, No. 3, p. 225.) 

(Note 2 — Indian Forts, Vol. 1; Indian Troubles, Part One.) 
(Note 3 — Miller History, Indian Troubles, Part 1.) 
(Note 4— Red Church records, Vol. 2. No. 3, p. 236, Schuylkill Co. 
His. Soc. Pub.) 



402 BLUE BOOK OF 

Allied Families 



James Burd, Commissioner, 1758, directed Jacob Morgan to continue 
to patrol between Fort Lebanon and Allemaengle, 

In 1776 Henry Miller joined Captain Michael Ferrer's 
company, enlisted in Tulpehocken Township, eight or ten 
miles over the Blue Mountain, and made up of forty-two men 
from the northwestern section of Berks County. Captain 
Forrer was a resident of Pinegrove Township. His com- 
pany was one of four on duty during August and September, 
1776, at South Amboy, N. J., at the mouth of the Raritan 
river opposite the southern extremity of Staten Island. They 
reinforced the Colonial forces during the battle of Long Is- 
land and belonged to the battalion of Col. John Patton. The 
captains were John Lesher, Michael Wolfif, George Miller 
and Michael Forrer. The companies were collected together 
at Womelsdorf, Berks County, where they received their 
first rations and from there they marched to Perth Amboy, 
leaving Womelsdorf, August nth, 1776, for their destination, 
135 miles, arriving on the 22nd.^ 

The history of the Mueller family is involved in that of 
the early churches of what is now Schuylkill County. They 
were of the Reformed faith. The first and second Red Church 
congregations, with log churches built 1755 and 1765, were 
Lutheran. Reformed ministers and teachers visited their 
people, baptized their children, taught them and performed 
other rites of the church whose records unfortunately were 
not preserved. These from 1783 to 1795 were: Revs. Stoy, 
Lehman, Hautz, Wagner, Hartzell and others. The Reform- 
ed congregation was formally organized, 1795, as Christ Re- 
formed church, Brunswick Township. The church was built 
a few rods west of Zion's or the Red Church, on the opposite 
side of the road near the forks where the road from Landing- 



(Note 1 — Penna. Archives, 5th Series, Vol 5. Penna. Archives 2, 
p. 249. Montgomery, Berks in the Revolution, p. 107. Penna. Associates, 
Vol. 2, pp. 257-276. Tax List, Berks County Court House, Pinegrove 
Township, 1771, Michael Forrer.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 403 

Allied Families 



villa joins the turnpike. The two churches united as a Union 
church with alternate Sundays for w^orship, Whit Monday, 
June II, 1832, and has remained as such ever since. 

At the organization of Christ Reformed Church, March 
19, 1795, the articles upon which it was founded were signed 
by fifty-five members among whom were Andreas Miller and 
Phillip Alspach."^ 

(April 16, 1808, Andrew Miller and John Hammer, of Manheim Town- 
ship Berks County, witnessed the will of Phillip Alspach, b. N. Windsor 
Township, Berks County, 1733; d. Aueust 26, 1808.— Abstract of Wills, 
Berks County, Penna. Historical See, Phila.) 

(Phillip Alspach (Anspach), Capt. Michael Forrer's Company, Revo- 
lutionary War.) 

Andrew Miller settled upon the land of his father, Hein- 
rich Miller, upon which he was already living. He married 
Anna Elizabeth, daughter of Mathias Stout, and sister of 
Ensign, afterward Captain John Stout, Revolutionary War, 
of Bern Township. No record of the date of this marriage 
has yet been discovered, but it occurred about 1782. Andrew 
Miller- stood sponsor with Elizabeth Orbich, 1774, May 8, 
for Maria Rebecca, daughter of Peter and Hannah Orbich .^ 
(Red Church records.) 

In 1779 Andrew Miller, of Brunswig Township, Berks 
County, signed a remonstrance against revising the Consti- 
tution of Pennsylvania (Part i.) In 1797, April 27, Andrew 
Miller and wf. Elizabeth purchased an additional tract of 
land from John Graul, Pinegrove Township, Berks County, 
and his wf. Julianna, for eight hundred and seventy pounds 
in gold and silver. (The name of the township had changed 
from Brunswig but not the locality.) This land, 214 acres, 
was surveyed July i, 1784, to John Brown and Michael For- 

(Note 1— Zion Red Church records, Schuylkill Co. His. Soc. Pub., 
Vol 2, No. 3, p. 214.) 

(Note 2 — When a man stood up with a single woman for this rite, 
he was generally unmarried.) 

(Note 3— Polly Orwig, Old Schuylkill Tales, pp. 44-46.) 



404 BLUE BOOK OF 

Allied Families 

rer and was conveyed with houses, barns, meadows and build- 
ings. The witnesses were Peter Confehr and Dan Ludwig.^ 

The children of Andrew and Anna Elizabeth Miller were : 
John Peter Miller, wf. Salome or Sophia Schwalm ; Susanna, 
b. 1786, wf. of George Reber (Reber History) ; Catharine, b. 
January 6, 1792, wf. of Wilhelm Wildermuth ; Maria Elisa- 
beth, wf. of Christian Deibert, probably the eldest daughter, 
(Summit Hill church records) ; John George, bap. July, 1790, 
d. in infancy; Maria Magdalena, b. November 15, 1794; 
there is no other record and this daughter may have been 
one of the first two named about whom there is a discrepancy 
as to their surnames, or she may have died young. The 
name is also recorded Maria Matilda ; Andrew Miller, Jr., b. 
1781, d. 1858; Hannah Miller, b. May 8, 1798, d. May 30, 1879; 
twice married, to Henry Zerbe and to Andrew Schwalm. 
Reformed church (Red) record: bap. Aug. 11; sponsors, Con- 
rad and Elizabeth Kerschner. 

(Mathias Stout, Elizabeth Miller's father, died 1795; his wife, 1797.) 

Andrew Miller, Jr., was married four times. First wife, 
Christina Deibert: second, Elizabeth Leiser, of Orwigsburg; 
third and fourth wives were western women. He removed 
to Wooster, Ohio, 1820, settling near that town. His second 
wife died after one year, leaving no issue. He had sons and 
daughters in that state, among them John, David, Mary and 
Frank. Christina Deibert d. 181 1, leaving three children. 
Of his first wife, Peter Miller, a county commissioner in 
Schuylkill, in the fifties, was a son and Catharine a daughter, 
m. to Whiteman. David married a Miesse, related to the 
Miesse family, of Pottsville, and became prominent in Ohio. 
Mary m. Frank Weise. Left an orphan at the age of six 
years. Later was raised in the Wm. Wildermuth family, 
with whom he learned the trade of carpentering. 

(Note 1 — D. B. Berks County C. H., December 7, 1815; the transaction 
is again recorded in deed book 2, p. 40, Recorder's office, Schuylkill 
County) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 405 

Allied Families 



Peter Miller, county commissioner, b. October 5, 1805, 
d. March 15, 1883; wf., Catharine Seltzer, b. April 8, 1811, d. 
February 21, 1900. Their children were: Amanda, m. Charles 
Miller (not a relative) ; Catharine m. Nathan Kindt ; Sarah 
m. Samuel Left'ler; Sybilla m. L. T. Medlar, d., builder and 
contractor of Pottsville : Wesley ni.. lives at Reading; Emma 
m. Abraham Long. 

Andrew Miller, Jr., lived for a time on the Deibert farm 
(his father-in-law's), below Schuylkill Haven, now known as 
the Filbert farm. Here were born to him and his first wife, 
Christina Deibert, their three children, Peter, Elizabeth and 
Catharine. Peter lived in Orwigsburg on the lower street, 
near the Evangelical church, where he followed the furniture 
and undertaking business, afterward removing to a fine farm 
near Drehersville, which he bought and cultivated until his 
death. 

Andrew, Jr., father of Peter, grew sick in Ohio, when his 
son sent for him, built him a small house on his farm and 
here he ended his days, having been seized with a stroke 
while in the Evangelical church, Drehersville, from the ef- 
fects of which he died. His wife returned west to her family. 
Andreas Miller, Jr., and wf. Christina bap, da. Elizabeth, 
November 6, 1808. The grandparents, Andrew and Elizabeth 
were sponsors. 

Joseph Seltzer, brother of Catharine, wf. of Peter Miller, 
was married to Elizabeth, sister of Peter Miller and daughter 
of Andrew Miller, Jr. 

Andrew Miller, Sr., signed the call twice for the building 
of the Reformed church, March 19, 1795, near Orwigsburg. 
He is noted on the Berks County tax lists in Manheim Town- 
ship, 1791. On May 2t„ 1808, Andrew Miller, Sr., and Anna 
Elizabeth, his wife, deeded his three tracts of land to his two 
sons and one son-in-law as follows : To his son Andrew Mil- 
ler, Jr., 151 acres 59 perches for seven hundred pounds in gold 
and silver. This included one whole tract which was patented 



406 BLUE BOOK OF 

Allied Families 

to Andrew Miller, Sr., by patent recorded in Patent Book 53, 
page 463, on warrant dated August 12, 1774, in right of Henry- 
Miller, who also had another tract patented to him February 

27, 1775^ 

To his son, Peter Miller, 81 acres and 91 perches for 
forty-three pounds and sixteen shillings.^ 

To his son-in-law, George Reber, 41 acres and 100 
perches. The warrant to this was issued November 3, 1773, 
and patented to Henry Miller as in preceding tract. Andrew 
Miller received one hundred and sixty-six pounds for this 
tract. This land is recorded in Pinegrove Township and 
later in Manheim. 

After dispossessing himself of his land, 1808, Andrew 
Miller removed to Orwigsburg, where he built the present 
Douglass residence, which the family occupied and where 
Hannah Miller was married to Henry Zerbe and where her 
posthumous son, Henry, was born. The house, a large, roomy 
red brick, old Colonial mansion, is the same as when owned 
and built by Andrew Miller, Mr. Douglass adding a back 
building. The trees planted by the Millers have attained a 
mature heighth and the present owners have cultivated a 
luxuriant growth of cultured plants and flowers in the box- 
bordered garden beds redolent with the beauty, perfume and 
luxuriance of the growth of old-fashioned flowers. These 
with the well kept lawn and fruit orchard in the rear form a 
fitting frame for the gentle, well bred and intelligent inmates 
of the home and their Colonial history. 

This house was occupied for a time by the father of Mar- 
tin Sheafer and also by the Schalls, Andrew Miller vacating 
it about 1818. George Douglass bought it 1830. 

Miss Rachel Douglass corroborates the above and says, 
"Andrew Miller built and owned the Douglass home, erected 



(Note 1— Berks County D. B. A, A, Vol. 15, p. 110.) 
(Note 2— D. B. 23, p. 27.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 407 

Allied Families 



i8o8-'io. My father, George Douglass, bought it from An- 
drew Miller." 

Wm. Miller, son of Peter and grandson of Andrew Mil- 
ler, of Bucyrus, Ohio, visited relatives hereabouts during the 
eighties and called upon the Misses Douglas. His father, 
John Peter Miller, had frequently spoken of and described 
this home to him. He took back with him fruit from an apple 
tree, planted by his father, and which had steadily borne the 
same luscious pippins for over three quarters of a century. 

After the marriage of Hannah Miller Zerbe to Andrew 
Schwalm, the old couple lived with their daughter, wife of the 
above. Anna Elizabeth Miller, b. 1758, d. 1840. and is buried 
in the Evangelical cemetery. There are those living who 
point out the locality of her grave, but the tombstone, a 
large one, has disappeared. She was eighty-two years of age, 
her death resulted from a stroke of apoplexy. A marker to 
her memory has been erected near the site of her grave. 

Andrew Miller, b. February 15, 1756, d. January 23, 1842. 
He made his home until his death with his daughter, Mrs. 
Hannah Schwalm ; he is buried in the Reformed cemetery, 
Orwigsburg. 

John Peter Miller, b. 1784, wf. Salome, Sophia Schwalm, 
bap. son William, March i, 1808; and son, John P. Miller, 
March 10, 1809, Wilhelm Wildermuth, brother-in-law, spon- 
sor^. The other children were : Peter, Daniel, Francis, 
Charles, Phoebe, Eliza and Hannah. 

Peter Miller left his farm to his son Daniel and he and 
Peter, Jr., who was a cigarmaker, remained in the vicinity of 
Orwigsburg, when Peter, Sr., with seven children moved, in 
1834, to Ohio. He died in Bucyrus, that State, 1839. His 
son, Francis, removed to Missouri and in an argument with 
a fire-eating Missourian, in 1865, was shot and killed. John 
P. married and removed to Hopkins, Hennepin Co., Minn. 



(Note 1 — Christ Reformed church records.) 



408 BLUE BOOK OF 

Allied Families 

He was living at the age of eighty-four years in 1893.^ 
He has a son, Charles D., living at the same place. Eliza 
Miller, b. 1827, d. 1914, m., daughter Jennie, d., married Au- 
gustine Wells. Tl^e daughters married and removed to other 
states, one living in La Grange, Ind., another in Atchison, 
Kan. The sons did likewise. 

William^ W. Miller (Peter^, Andrew^, Heinrich^), Bucy- 
rus, O. ; wf ., Christina ; c. : Mrs. Maria W. Shonert ; Wilson 
A., railway trainman ; James K., and Mrs. Sarah Jump. Mrs. 
Shonert had three sons, one, Edmund M. Shonert, having 
great musical talent, was educated in Germany by his grand- 
father, William Miller, his mother being a widow. He was 
for years concert pianist for Reminiji, the Russian violinist, 
having made several foreign concert tours. He is at present 
playing at Madison Square Garden, New York. 

Daniel Miller had several children, one a son, Charles, 
widower, living in Orwigsburg. 

The children of Peter Miller, Jr., were: Martha, d., un- 
married ; Phoebe, wf. of Rufus Boyer, cigar dealer, of St. 

Clair, who had a number of daughters, one married 

Kocher, of Orwigsburg; another, a trained nurse, at Atlantic 
City, has a hotel or sanitarium for invalids. A son follows 
his father's business in St. Clair. 

(Note — Miss Douglass has in her possession some very 
interesting Colonial relics. Her great grandfather was Col. 
Jacob Morgan. They had a sugar refinery and bonded ware- 
house at the southwest corner of Eleventh and Pine Streets, 
Philadelphia. This ground was purchased by the city and 
on it is erected a school house. It is a perpetual lease and 
the ground is entailed. The Misses Douglas draw the rent, 
which will be perpetuated in their heirs. They have an old 
receipt book of Stephen Girard, which contains a note of 
hand, by his clerk, Martin MacDermott, June 15, 1786, for 73 



(Note 1 — A letter written him about a year ago remained unanswer- 
ed.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 409 

Allied Families 

pounds to be paid in full with 1102 pounds of coffee. Other 
receipts from noted Philadelphians who had transactions with 
the commission house, followed.) 



THE REBERS, EARLY SETTLERS IN SCHUYLKILL 
COUNTY WHEN INCLUDED IN BERKS 

There is merit in good blood in animals and the same is 
true of men. Johannes Bernhardt Reber and wife, Magda- 
lena Hahn, emigrated to this country, 1742, from Langen- 
selbold, Hesse Cassel, Germany. Two sons, Johannes, six 
years old, and Ludwig accompanied them, and three sons and 
several daughters were born them in the Tulpehocken dis- 
trict, with perhaps two more not fully proven. They settled 
near the big bend in Tulpehocken Creek, near Blue Marsh, 
where Thomas. Valentine, Peter, George and Catharine, 
were born. It is asserted that from Johannes Bernhardt Re- 
ber and his sons every person of that name in the United 
States is descended. 

Johannes2 Reber (Johnl Bernhardt), b. 1736; wf. Catharine, m. 1757; 
c: John Conrad, George and John. 

JohnS Conrad (Johannes2, Johannesl Bernhardt), b. 1758; m. 1778; 
son Conrad b. 1778, d. 1817. (Tombstone, Northkill cemetery.) 

Revolutionary War record — Conrad Reber, private, Capt. George Mil- 
ler's Co., September 5, 1776. (Penna. Archives, 5th Ser., Vol. 5, p. 152, 
Part 1.) 

Valentine2 Reber (Johnl Bernhardt), b. 1742, d. 1818. (Tombstone 
record, Northkill cemetery.) 

Thomas and Peter went West and had a numerous pro- 
geny. Ludwig settled in Berks. 

John^ Conrad had other children beside Conrad, among 
them a George. 

In Upper Tulpehocken, east of Strausstown, there was a 
Jacob^, who had five sons and five daughters, one of the lat- 
ter of whom, Catharine, was married to John Schwalm^. 



(Note 1 — Schwalm's History,) 



410 BLUE BOOK OF 

Allied Families 

John'- Reber (John^, Bernhardt^), b. September 20, 1768, 
in Heidelberg Township. He had fifteen children, sons : 
John, Joseph, Benjamin, Jonas, Daniel, Samuel and others. 

George' Reber, b. 1770, or thereabouts, was probably a 
son of Johannes^. It will be noted hereinafter how the family 
names of his brother John were repeated in his family. There 
were, however, several other Georges of the third genera- 
tion, but all were of the grandsire, John Bernhardt, stock. 
George Reber came over the Blue Mountain about 1791. 
He married Elizabeth, daughter of Andrew and Anna Eliza- 
beth Miller, by whom he had twelve children, eight sons and 
four daughters. He is buried with his wife at Summer Hill 
church, but traces of their tombstones have not been found, 
nor are the early records of this church complete, and their 
children were probably baptized by an early schoolmaster or 
by itinerant Reformed pastors. Among the sons were : 
Daniel, Jonas, George, William, Benjamin, John (Jonathan), 
Andrew and Samuel (Jonathan and Jonas were probably the 

same man.) A daughter, Hannah, married Schwenk ; 

other daughters were : Elizabeth, Catharine, . Of these^ 

eight sons, are said to have been descended all the Rebers in 
Schuylkill County and many others who have settled else- 
where. 

April 24, 1795, George Reber, of Brunswig Township, 
bought a lot in Orwigsburg^ He settled in the valley be- 
tween what is now Auburn and Jefferson and farmed upon 
the tract of land, forty-one acres and one hundred perches, 
deeded him by his father-in-law, Andrew Miller, May 23, 
1808, in consideration of one hundred and sixty-six pounds, 
which he paid, the deed being cited as in Manheim^. George 
Reber kept a roadhouse on this tract, which after his death 
was run by several of his sons. Part of this original tract 
has been in possession of the Reber family ever since the 

(Note 1 — Pass book in possession of Attorney Christopher Loeser.) 
(Note 2— Miller History.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 4" 

Allied Families 

above date and adjacent lands have been added thereto by 
descendants. John Reber, underwear manufacturer, of Potts- 
ville; William Reber and Horace Reber, former clerk to the 
county commissioners of Schuylkill, of Pinegrove, Benjamin 
Reber, Auburn R. F. D. No. 2, and many others in Schuyl- 
kill County are descendants of George Reber and wife Anna 
Elizabeth Miller.i 



THE WILDERMUTHS 



Three brothers, Heinrich, Wilhelm and John Adam Wil- 
dermuth, came from Germany to Berks County, settling on 
this side of the Blue Mountain about 1760. John Adam, wf. 
Eve ; Heinrich, wf . Christina ; the latter baptized children, 
1775, 1779.^ They took up land near Fort Lebanon. The chil- 
dren of Adam and Eve were : Adam, Lucian and George. 
Lucian, first wife of a Strauss, with whom he had five chil- 
dren and seven with the second. 

Wm.3 Wildermuth (Lucian2, Johnl Adam), b. March 14, 1785; d.' May 
29, 1869; wf., Catharine, da. of Andrew Miller (Heinrich), b. January 6, 

1792, d. October 29, 1859. Their children were: John, Hetty, m. 

Pottberg, three children; Ella, wf. of John Heim; Charles, a prominent 
physician of Phila., m.; William, m., four children, Binghampton, N. Y. 

Kitty Wildermuth m. John Alspach, had several children. 

Louisa Wildermuth, m., Raudenbush, Cleveland, 0.; eight children. 
Alice, m. Thomas Heim; Susanna m. Rev. Riegle, of the Evangelical 

church, Kankake, 111; Hannah m. Williams; second wf., Isabella 

Mengle. 

William Wildermuth was a prominent boat builder at 
Landingville in the early days and lived at Orwigsburg on 
a lot adjoining that of his brother-in-law, Andrew Schwalm, 
where he and his wife spent their declining years. 

John^ Wildermuth (William^, Lucian^, John^ Adam), b. 
November 8, 1811, d. November 9, 1899; wf., Susanna, da. of 
Peter and Susanna Alspach (born Gilbertin), b. March 6, 

(Note 1 — Miller History.) 
(Note 2 — Red church records.) 



412 BLUE BOOK OF 

Allied Families 



1819, d. September 6, 1862. Peter Alspach d. December 6, 
1829. Susanna, his wife, d. February 25, 1864. The children 
of John and Susanna Wildermuth were : 

Charles W. Wildermuth, newsdealer and stationer, of Pottsville, Pa.; 
first wf., Delia Debo, one son, Fred., d.^ m. Mollie Snyder, four children, 
living in Philadelphia; second wf., Mary Foy, d.; c, Mame, wf. of Ed. 
Moyer, d., da., Dorothy; Delia, wf. of Hugh Davis, d., 1 da.; and Teenie, 
wf. of Charles Focht. 

C. W. Wildermuth d. October 4, 1915. 

Mary Wildermuth, d., wf. of David Allen, d., 1 da., d. 

Hannah Wildermuth, wf. of John Bankus, soldier in the Civil War; 
no children. 

Josiah Wildermuth, first wf., Susan, da. of Rev. Adams, of the Evan- 
gelical church; one son, m., two c; second wf., Helen Sintpn. Three 
daughters of John and Susanna Wildermuth's died September, 1851, in 
one week of scarlet fever and one of diphtheria, 1862, in Orwigsburg. 
In 1867, May 27, a son, George W., was drowned in Norwegian Creek, 
Pottsville, his body was found at Mt. Carbon, June 3. 

Edwin Wildermuth, painter, d.; first wf., Emma Daubert; four c; 
second wf., Kate Bankus; two c: Susie Wildermuth, d., m. John Heim, 
no c; Ella, 2d wife of John Heim. 

Albert L. Wildermuth, wf. Mary Schlaseman; c: Arthur and Ada. 
Employed in the Pottsville postoffice. John Wildermuth was a cabinet 
maker and carpenter and lived in Orwigsburg; he removed to Potts- 
ville^ where he died. 

Sarah Catharine, da. of William and Catharine Miller Wildermuth; 
m. David Paul; lived at Port Carbon. Parents of Levi Paul, music deal- 
er, Pottsville; Levi Paul, wf. Rosa Mary, d., c: Howard May, music 
dealer, m.; Kathryn, single. 

Samuel' Leffler (John-, Conrad^) ; wf., Elizabeth, da. of 
William and Catharine Wildermuth; c. : William, d., unmar- 
ried ; B. Franklin, d., widow resides at Fountain Springs, 
Schuylkill Co. ; Uriah, m., has children, lives at Mechanics- 
ville, carpenter. Lizzie (Samuel) single, Landingville ; Mary, 
m. Daniel Paul. Port Carbon, one da. B. Franklin Lefifler 
(Samuel), his sons are: George, m., editor and publisher of 
the "Trades Journal," New York; William, single, physician, 
McKeesport ; Aurelian. single, teacher of the Tligh School, 
McKeesport, Pa. 

Conrad^ Leffler, of Cocalico Township, Lancaster County, 
where his son John was born, removed to Amity Township. 
Berks County ; he is buried in the Amityville cemetery. He 
was one of the Associators for the Province of Pennsylvania 
and a Colonel in the Revolutionarv War. 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 
Allied Families 



413 



The Schwalms 



First Schwalms In America 




*HE Schwalms originated in 
lif Schleswig Holstein, Prussian 
W^ Province. The town of Neu- 
munster, on the Schwale river, forty 
miles from Hamburg, was the 
birthplace of many, among them 
Johannes Schwall. Near this vil- 
lage was a Schwalm feudal castle, 
the ruins of which can still be seen. 
Neumunster has a population of 31,347. Some of the Schwalm 
name lived in the vicinity of Essen, where the great Krupp 
gun works are located. The Schwalms were of the Reformed 
faith and suffered with others the religious persecutions that 
followed the Reformation. Those that saw their "Ultima 
Thule" in Utopian America, migrated to Switzerland where 
they lived until opportunity offered, 1709, to sail for the land 
where their chimerical hopes led them to believe no wrong 
could exist and where their iridescent dreams of freedom, 
plenty and liberty of conscience prevailed and would be real- 
ized. (The name Schwalle, Schwalbe, Schwall, Schwalm 
changed in Switzerland to Zwalle.) Those who came to 
Pennsylvania after 172S were ;! 

Christian Swaller, August 25, 1735; ship, Billander; Capt. 0. S. Mer- 
chant. 



(Note 1 — Ship Lists, Penna. Archives.) 



414 



BLUE BOOK OF 
Allied Families 



Hans.Zwalle, September 16, 1736; ship, Princess Augustus; Capt. 0. 
S. Merchant. 

Anna Swalla, October 8, 1737; ship, Charming Nancy; Capt. Chas. 
Stedman. 

Johannes Zwalle, September 26, 1794; ship, Dragon; Capt. George 
Spencer. 

In the appendix of Rupp's "Thirty Thousand Immigrants" 

and the lists of names of more than one thousand French 

and Germans who came to New York before 1712, occurs that 

of Johannes Schwall (Schwalm), who lived in Livingston 




ANCIENT SCHWALM CASTLE 

Manor, 1710, emigrating to America with the Palatines, 1709. 
He settled subsequently in the Schoharie Valley with Johann 
Conrad Weiser's contingent, the history of which settlement 
is referred to on a previous page. 

Johan Schwalbe, from the village of Hunterstown, July 
16, 171 1, was in the company from Hunterstown, N. Y., Capt. 
John Peter Kneskern^. 

Johannes Schwall came to Berks County (then Chester), 
Pennsylvania, 1728, with the second delegation of Palatinates 
and settled in the Upper Tulpehocken. 

(Note — The name Schwalm, now spelled by many Swalm, beside the 
above variations, was also spelled Swallum. The various spellings have 
no orthographical significance, anglicized it is Swallow and should have 
been thus changed in the departure from the original Schwalbe.) 



(Note 2 — Report of New York State Historical Colonial Series, Vol. 1, 
pp. 974-'7; No. 4, p. 811., Part 1.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 415 

Allied Families 

Samuel Swaller, m. to Margaretha Kroll, Conestoga. De- 
cember 16, 1738^. (Son, doubtless of John Schwalle.) 

Note — In an article on anatomy, Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Ed., 
Vol. 1, p. 927, p. 939, there is a reference to Schwalbe's Zeitschrift fuer 
Morphology und Anthropologic. These recoi'ds are republished in the 
original in England, Fi-ance and America annually. The Librarian of the 
University of Penna. says: "These articles appear in 600 Journals each 
year, but the above has not been among them.) 

The Schwalms in Bern Township were Mennonites, a 
German sect that flourished in that valley as early as I735. 
when the Penns granted them a tract of twenty acres of land 
near the Blue Mountains, some, however, adhering to the Re- 
formed church. This sect known as "German Quakers" be- 
lieved that Christians should not hold office, take an oath, 
use physical force or resort to war. They did not baptize 
infants and hence there are no records in evidence as to their 
family history through the recognized church channels and 
court records or war rosters. 

The Schwalms did not engage in war, but they gave of 
their means and manufactured powder for the Revolutionary 
cause and also provided flour and grain for Washington's 
army at Valley Forge. 

There is a time-worn tradition in the family that the 
only time General Washington is known to have sworn, was 
at the battle of Trenton, when he awaited a consignment of 
powder from Bern Township, Berks County, that was delayed 
by bad roads and overloaded army wagons of grain and he 
let fall a remark about the slowness of "Die verdammt 
Deutsch." (The powder was from the mill of Johannes^ 
Schwalm.) 

There is no record of how many children Johannes^ 
Schwalm (1709) of Upper Tulpehocken had owing to causes 
aforestated. One son, Johannes", married a daughter of Ja- 
cob Reber and settled in Bern Township. He is supposed to 



(Note 1 — Stoever's Records.) 



4i6 BLUE BOOK OF 

Allied Families 

be the Johannes Zwally, widower, who married Catharine, 
daughter of Michael Shaffer, October 20, 1765.^ 

John^ Schwalm's children were MichaeP and Andrew. 

John2 Schwalm lived on the Light (Lichte) farm, between 
Bellman's and St. Michael's church and a short distance from 
Mohrsville and Bernville. Adjoining their plantation was 
that of Caspar Phillips, who came to this country, 1735. The 
Phillips-Schwalm families were intermarried. A Phillips 
descendant says, John^ Schwalm lived in Upper Tulpehocken 
and took up a tract of land in Bern upon which Andrew^ 
lived. 

CASPAR PHILLIPS' CHILDREN 

Peter Phillips, m. Catharine, da. of Andrew^ Schwalm ; 

Dr. Jacob Phillips m. Elizabeth, da. of Andrew'^ Schwalm ; 

Peter Phillips (Caspar) and wife, Catharine Schwalm, are 
buried at Bellman's church, Centre Township, two miles from 
Mohrsville. Their children were : Charles S., M. D., Womels- 
dorf; Reuben, Snyder County; John, farm, near Reading; 
Francis, N. J. ; several daughters and Samuel, of Bernville. 

The children of Dr. Jacob Phillips and wife, Elizabeth 
Schwalm, were: Adam, d., Muncy, Pa.; John, Reading; Dan- 
iel, killed in U. S. army, Gettysburg; Benjamin, killed at Per- 
ryville, in battle ; Henry, d. at Myerstown, and several daugh- 
ters. A singular fact related of the two sisters, Elizabeth and 
Catharine Schwalm, who married the Phillips brothers, was 
that they both died on Good Friday, one in 1839 and the other 
1849. 

Jacob Phillips lived on the Dyninger's farm on the out- 
skirts of Reading, a beautiful well-kept place. 

Jacob Phillips d. June 17, 1852, aped 82 years. 

Maria Elizabeth Schwalm, wf. of Jacob Phillips, d. March 15, 1849. 
Maria Ann Gass (Gars), da. of Jacob and Elizabeth Phillips, b. March 
2, 1822, d. June 10, 1862. 



(Note 1 — Marriages of Rev. John Walderschmidt, Penna. Archives, 
Series 6, Vol. 6.) 

(Note 2 — Michael Swalle, ranger on the Indian frontier along the 
Blue Mountains. The pay for his services is specified. — Penna. Archives.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 417 

Allied Families 



Henry Gars (son-in-law of Jacob Phillips), b. May 12, 1817, d. Jan- 
uary 6, 1855.1 

Letters of administration were granted on the estate of Jacob Phil- 
lips, of Alsace Township, Berks County, December 9, 1852, to Henry 
Gars, a son-in-law. 

The same were also granted on the estate of Henry Gars, deceased, 
of Alsace Township, January 29, 1855, to Mary Gars, his widow, and 
Jacob Gars, his brother. 

(Note — A son, Henry, of the above, lives at Adamsdale, Schuylkill 
County.) 

John Phillips, slater, of Pottsville, is of this branch. 

Henry and Mary Gars were the parents of four children: Sarah, Mary 
Ann, Eliza and Henry Gars. 

Ex-Recorder, of Bei'ks County, Reeser, of West Leesport, is a de- 
scendant of one of the Phillips-Schwalms. 

BAPTISMAL RECORDS 

The records of the Reformed church, one mile west of Stouchsburg, 
Berks County, give the following: 

1788, July 10 — Bap. Peter, son of John and Margaret Schwalm; spon- 
sors, Peter Batdorf and wf. 

1791, August 24 — Johannes, son of John and Amelia Schwalm; spon- 
sors, Daniel and Salome Loby. 

1791, October 8 — Daniel, son of John and Amelia Schwalm; sponsors, 
the same. 

An old record says of Peter Schwalm, the above, "whose 
parents were natives of Switzerland where the name was an 
honorable one for many generations." Peter Schwalm and 
wife Catharine are buried on the cemetery of Bellman's 
church, near Bernville. 

Jost (Joseph) Swallum took up 45 acres, 40 perches of 
land, July 30, 1772. in Northampton County, just across the 
Lehigh river from Berks. 

Andrew^ Schwalm (Johannes-, Johannes^), b. about 1755, 
d. 1793, in Pinegrove Township; wf. Susanna, b. 1765, d. 1810; 
both are buried at Bellman's church, between Bernville and 
Mohrsville, Berks County. Andrew Schwalm was born in 
Tulpehocken Township, and is on the tax list of Heidelburg 
Township as a taxpayer, 1785. The only baptismal record 
found, which also corroborates his having lived in that town- 



(Note 1 — Tombstone inscriptions, Alsace church, outskirts of Read- 
ing.) 



4i8 BLUE BOOK OF 

Allied Families 

ship, is: B., 1785, June 23; bap., July 24, Schwalb, Elizabeth, 
da. of Andrew Schwalb and wf. Susanna ; sponsors, Christian 
and Elizabeth Michel.^ 

Andrew^ Schwalm removed to Pinegrove Township, 
Berks County, about 1788, where he took up land on the 
Swatara Creek, in what is now North Pinegrove. He was a 
farmer and miller by occupation and ran an oil, clover and 
lumber mill. In April, 1793, he was badly burned in an ex- 
plosion in his oil mill, from the effects of which he died after 
several days of suffering. His wife continued to live on the 
plantation until her death, 1810. 

Letters of administration were granted the widow, Su- 
sanna, "relict of Andrew Schwalm, farmer, of Pinegrove 
Township, and Michael Schwalm, a brother-in-law," May 14, 

I793-- 

March i, 1810, John Schwalm. eldest son of Andrew 

Schwalm, says : "His father died sixteen years ago intestate. 

leaving a widow, who has since died, and the following issue : 

John, Elizabeth, wf. of Jacob Phillips; Phillip, Catharine, wf. 

of Peter Phillips ; and Andrew ; the three last named were 

minors then under fourteen years of age. The tract of land 

was two hundred and nineteen acres situate in Pinegrove 

Township, adjoining lands of Andrew Schoope, Bernhart 

Zimmerman and others. It was appraised at three hundred 

and fifty-six pounds. John Schwalm took it at the appraise- 

ment^."' 

From the above it would appear that John, the eldest 
son, managed the mill and farm for his mother until her 
death ; the two daughters married and Phillip and Andrew- 
were thrown early on the world as subsequent events prove. 

John^ Schwalm (Andrew^ John^, Johannes^), b. March 
16, 1788; married Susan Rahn ; d. June 16, 1852, buried in 
the Evangelical cemetery, Womelsdorf ; he left a childless 



(Note 1 — Hahn's church, Heidelberg Township, built 1745.) 

(Note 2— Berks County C. B. 4, p. 349.) 

(Note 3 — Orphans' Court Record Book, 6, p. 104.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 4^9 

Allied Families 



widow. He lived for a time in Paxton Township, a part of 
Berks County, that was added to Dauphin. In Dauphin 
County lived' also a John Schwalm, who may have been and 
doubtless was the son of John2 Schwalm (Johannes^) referred 
to hereafter. 

(Note— George Rahn came from Rotterdam, September 24, 1737; ship 
St. Andrew, John Stedman captain.) 

(Note— A Strausstown church record gives a John Schwalm as hav- 
ing married a daughter of Peter Weaver; he was of the third generation.) 

Phillip Schwalm, b. March 24, 1790, d. October 17, 1849. 
He learned the trade of tailoring at Rehersburg, where he 
lived six years, removing subsequently to Womelsdorf where 
he engaged in the merchant tailoring business and became a 
prominent citizen. He was one of an incorporated board of 
directors of the Womelsdorf Academy, April 11, 1834, and a 
leading member of the Reformed church, the cornerstone of 
which was laid for the Lutheran and Reformed congregations 
June 30, 1792. He is buried in Zion's church. Union ceme- 
tery, Womelsdorf. The Womelsdorf Academy was carried 
on till 185 1. He married Margaret Wingert, b. January 25, 
1795; d. April 14, 1851 (Union cemetery.) The children of 
Phillip and Margaretha Schwalm were: 

John Emanuel, b. October 19, 1818, who removed to Iowa where he 
died; Reuben Andreas, b. October 11, 1826, went West but returned to 
Womelsdorf, where he died; Israel Phillip, b. July 10, 1829. Daughters: 
Susan, Maria, m. John Miller, of Philadelphia; Anne; Louisa, m. 
Levi Monderbeck; both are buried in the Union cemetery, Womelsdorf. 

A granddaughter of Phillip Schwalm, with her aunt, 
Maria Miller, of Womelsdorf, afterward of Philadelphia, vis- 
ited Pottsville relatives in 1856. Her name was Susan Basil. 
She lived in Virginia and was a daughter of one of the chil- 
dren of Phillip Schwalm. The writer remembers that mem- 
bers of the family performed the friendly offices of maid for 
her during her stay, she having been accustomed tO' black 
people waiting on her and relating in the meanwhile stories 
to the children of the slaves on her father's plantation. There 
was a large family and the girls all married and removed. 



430 BLUE BOOK OF 

Allied Families 

some of them, to Iowa. The children of Philip and Susan 
Kunkelman, nee Schwalm, were : 

Coral Phillips Schwalm, Samuel Schwalm, Philip Schwalm, Marie 
Kunkelman, Emma Kunkelman. 

Andrew* Schwalm (Andrew^, John^, Johannes^), b. Au- 
gust i8, 1793, bap. 179S, d. June 5, 1857. He married Hannah 
Zerbe, da. of Andrew Miller and widow of Henry Zerbe^, 
1819. 

Andrew Schwalm was thrown on his own resources 
early. His father died in April and he was born August 8, 
1793, and was a posthumous son ; he died June 5, 1857. 

He worked among the farmers and assisted his brother 
John in the mill, but finally drifted to Buffalo, N. Y., where 
he learned carpentering and boat building. He returned and 
settled in Orwigsburg, 1818, opening a cabinet shop on the 
main street. After his marriage he returned to Buffalo and 
engaged in boat building for the Welland Canal, returning at 
intervals to visit his family. In 1832 he returned to Orwigs- 
burg and after engaging in partnership with his brother-in- 
law, William Wildermuth, in the building of boats for the 
Schuylkill Canal, he opened a boat yard of his own at Land- 
ingville. He also opened a general store on the main street. 
south of the cabinet shop where he ran a line of agricultural 
implements, a thrasher and straw cutter upon which he had 
a patent attachment, having a successful sale. He had large 
investments in the John, Richard and George Rickert's coal 
operations, near Middleport and New Philadelphia and for 
those days was considered a wealthy and prosperous business 
man. He was one of the first members of the Evangelical 
Association which had its inception in Orwigsburg, and with 
his wife is buried in that cemetery. He died of double hernia 
and tuberculosis. The children of Andrew and Hannah 
Schwalm were : 

Catharine, b. November 27, 1820; d. June 6, 1903. 

Mary A., b. July 18, 1822; living at the age of 93 (1915); 



(Note 1 — Zerbe-Miller History.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 42i 

Allied Families 



Hannah, b. March 7, 1824; d. April 1, 1824; 
Hannah E., b. March 19, 1825; d. August 3, 1894; 
John A., b. December 19, 1826; d. June 3, 1894; 
Joseph M., b. February 27, 1828; d. January 15. 1899; 
Sarah L., b. September 3, 1830; d. August 19, 1914; 
Esther, b. March 20, 1832; d. May 20, 1835; 
Amanda, b. March 9, 1834; d. September 11, 1895; 
Susan J., b. April 21, 1837; d. September 12, 1879; 
Louisa, b. August 18, 1840; d. September 21, 1845. 



FREDERICK HAESELER 

Catharine Schwalm, b. November 27, 1820, d. June 6. 
1903; m. Frederick Haeseler, b. 1814. d. February 26. 1880. 

Children : 

John Schwalm Haeseler, wf. Catharine Bittle, of Cres- 
sona". They removed from Pottsville to Cedar Rapids, Iowa. 
1870, where they live retired. He was a miller. Their chil- 
dren are : 

Oscar Biddle, wf. Gertrude Blessing, son, Melville Blessing; one 
daughter d fsaraC, of Cedar Rapids, la.; Henry F., wf. Emma K. Home 
so^ John Arville, is a druggist, as is also his brother, Franklin P., wf 
Inna E Brenneman. da. Vera Elizabeth; both live at or near Chicago, 
Herbert G wf Georgie Wilcox, da's., Dorothy M. and Helen. Dora A. 
mSh Meyers; LorL M. Haeseler. Herbert G. Haeseler lives at George- 
town, Col., of which city he was twice elected mayor. 

Francis ^. Haeseler, b. November 25, 1842; wf.. Caroline 
Rausch- tobacconist and tax receiver. Pottsville. Pa.; re- 
moved to Haddon Heights, N. J. Their children are: Emdy 
F m John Cunningham, of Haddon Heights, one son John ; 
and Maude H.. m. George E. Gay. two children, Margaret H., 
Selwin F. ; live near Pittsburg. 

(Note-John Rausch came from Germany before 1780 and located in 
Berks County and afterward near Ringgold. His son John was sheriff ol 
Ichuylkill County. 1823. Henry was deputy sheriff >" 1^34 and John 
Rausch sheriff in 1861. Mrs. Haeseler was a daughter of the latter.) 

Joseph Haeseler. b. August, 1844. d. August, 1845. 

Albert S., first wf. Susan Smyth, d. May 18, 1893; one 
son Fred. ; second wf., Annie E. Lippman, of a notable Phila- 
delphia family. Albert and son Conrad Frederick, photo- 
graphers, Philadelphia. 



422 BLUE BOOK OF 

Allied Families 

Louisa H., m. Frank, son of Emanuel Hause, an early 
settler of Pottsville, who lived at Flowery Fields ; Francis 
Hause, b. May 7, 1838, d. June 6, 1900; children: 

Ralph E., clerk, Merchants' Bank, Pottsville, wf. Mary Wicks, one 
son, Francis; da's, Jennie and Dorothy, m. Gustave A. Muehlhof, drafts- 
man, C. & I. Co., no c; Fred, tobacconist, wf. Verda Kehler, da. Marion. 

Francis Hause, tobacconist, member of Borough Council 
and a soldier in the three years' service in the Civil War, was 
a self made man and amassed considerable property in Potts- 
ville, where he was prominent in business. 

Charles S. Haeseler, wf. Laura Medlar, da. of John 
Medlar, of Pottsville. Children : Helen M., Mary Laura, 
Katharine S., Charlotte S., live in Philadelphia. He was for- 
merly in the tobacco business in Pottsville, Pa. ; is employed 
now at Wanamaker's. 

Helen, da. of Charles S. and Laura Haeseler, m. Charles A. Bridge- 
man, of Ambler, Pa., October 7, 1915. 

George T. Haeseler, b. November i, 1850, d. November 
20, 1855, the result of an accident in his father's fulling mill. 
Joseph, George and Amanda are buried at Orwigsburg. 

Anna Amanda, b. March 8, 1854, d. May 8, 1862. 

Emma M., m. J. H. Super, C. & L Co. police, Minersville. 

Albert H., Physician, Allentown, m., has children: John Henry, Jr.; 
Katharine M.; Dorothy E.; Sarah Louise; Frederick H.; two deceased. 
Family resides at Minersville, Pa. 

Sarah S., m. George W. Temple, of Pottsville ; removed 
to Denver, Col., where he was a promoter and contractor and 
where he died, 1913, and is buried in the Baber cemetery, 
Pottsville ; no children. 

Katharine A., d. June 6, 1886, unmarried, aged 25 years. 

Frederick S., d. November 8, 1870, aged four years. 

HAESELER FAMILY 

Henry Frederick Haeseler, wf. Amalia Schumacher, born 
at Nordheim, Hanover, Germany, 1785. Their children were: 
Charles Henry, b. May 20, 1810; Dorothea, Frederick, John 
Henry and Johanna. Charles Henry m. Louisa Henrietta 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 433 

Allied Families 

Riihe, of Nordheim, 1829, whose father was the physician 
with whom he studied medicine prior to entering- the Uni- 
versity of Goettingen from which he graduated. They came 
to America, 1834, with their young son, Charles Herman. 
They settled at Orwigsburg, Pa., where he entered the prac- 
tice of medicine with Dr. Benjamin Becker as a Homoeopath- 
ist. Their other children were : Henry, physician, d. in Coun- 
cil Bluffs, la. ; Frederick and William, d. ; Amelia, wf. of 
Major Jacob Wagner, of the 48th Rcgt. Pa. Vols, and subse- 
quently of the regular army. They had one son, Carl H. 
Wagner, lawyer, Pottsville, m. Mary Downey, no children. 

Emma R., wf. of Adolph W. Schalck, d., a prominent 
lawyer of Pottsville ; had two children, one daughter de- 
ceased, and Louise H., wf. of Dr. Wm. Francis Doyle, physi- 
cian, practicing in the Haeseler homestead, Garfield Square, 
where three generations of doctors, of the family have lived ; 
they have one son, Francis W. 

Dr. Charles Henry Haeseler was twice married. His 
second wife was Eliza Geanslen, who long survived him. 

Dr. Charles^ Herman Haeseler (Charles^ Henry, Henry^), 
was a successful medical practitioner, a graduate of the Col- 
lege of Physicians and Surgeons in New York, where he 
practiced before coming to Pottsville, where he became emi- 
nent in his profession. He was twice married. First wf., 
Barbara, second wf., Ada, da. of Judge Heilner, of Tamaqua. 
who survives him. His children with his first wife were : 
Louise, now Assistant Superintendent of the Girls' High 
School, Philadelphia ; Lieutenant Francis J. Haeseler, d., of 
the U. S. N., left a widow, one da. Herman, a successful 
mechanical engineer, of Philadelphia. Has four children : 
Louisa Amelia, Francis J., Mary and Ada H., wife deceased. 

The Shumacher Bible, brought to America by Henry 
Frederick Haeseler and his wife, Amalia Shumacher, which 
has been in possession of the family since 1555, and handed 
down from son to son in the Shumacher family until Amalia, 



424 BLUE BOOK OF 

Allied Families 

who had no brothers, is treasured as an heirloom in the Her- 
man Haeseler family of Philadelphia. 

Dorothea Haeseler (Henry Frederick), b. 1812. m. Phil- 
lip Rossweiler. at Orwigsburg, removed to Millersburg, P'a., 
subsequently to Napirville, 111. They had several children, 
among them a son, Henry, who is living at the age of sev- 
enty-five years at the above place. 

Frederick Haeseler was the last of his family to come to 
the United States, which he did only at the urgent solicita- 
tion of those who preceded him. He had served his term of 
military duty and was a clerk in the German government em- 
ploy with prospects of advancement under civil service rules. 
He came to Orwigsburg, 1839. and married Catharine 
Schwalm shortly thereafter. He settled on a farm a mile and 
a half south of that place, 1840, where he ran a fulling and 
clover mill, was a Justice of the Peace and farmed a tract of 
land. He removed with his family to Pottsville about 1865 
and bought the John's property, corner of East Norwegian 
and Centre Streets, north side, the family living on Centre 
Street, where he and his wife died. 

John Henry Haeseler (Henry Frederick) came to Or- 
wigsburg with his parents. He began life as a weaver, 
studying medicine in the interim. He was a Doctor of the 
Homoeopathic School and practiced in Orwigsburg. He mar- 
ried Sarah Linder. They had a number of children, among 
them Charles H. Haeseler, shoe salesman, of that place, wf. 
Mary Beck ; Mary, m. Edwards, lived and died in Read- 
ing ; Thomas, in the shoe factory business at Landingville ; 
Charles Haeseler, da. Annie and other children. Thomas 
is married and has a family. 

Johannes Haeseler (Henry Frederick), m. John Koehl, 
a minister in the Evangelical church. They had one son. Dr. 
Jere Koehl, who practiced in Pottsville and Reading, subse- 
quently removing to Iowa, where he died. He was twice 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 425 

Allied Families 



married and is survived by a widow and several children. 
The widow of Rev. John Koehl and children are living at 
Allentown, Pa. 



REMINISCENCE 



Mrs. W. M. Zerbey, d., eighty-three years of age, 1914, 
said: "Before my father, Andrew Schwalm, built the house 
on the lower street, Orwigsburg, there was a one and a half 
story brick house, in which we lived, that stood on its site. 
Joseph Morgan (father of Mrs. Jere Seitzinger, Mrs. Aurora 
Baum and Mrs. Fred. Foster) was a cabinet maker on the 
main street, south of our shop. When he removed to Pottts- 
ville my father bought his property and we moved and lived 
there until our new home was built. When we removed to 
our new house the Haeseler family, which had just arrived 
from Germany, rented our house on Main Street and occu- 
pied it for several years. Phillip Rossweiler lived with them. 
They established several looms for carpet and woolen quilt 
weaving, then a good paying business, when they removed 
to Millersburg. My father opened a grocery and general 
store in the building, which he conducted for five or six 
years. Samuel Yost I think, bought that house. Frederick 
and Henry Haeseler remained at Orwigsburg and Dr. Charles 
H. Haeseler returned to Pottsville from Millersburg and 
opened up practice. Mr. and Mrs. Haeseler, the old people, 
died at Millersburg. I remember well visiting them twice 
at that place when small; we drove there, the railway wcts 
not built then, stopping over night on the way. Once we 
went with a sleigh and the snow disappeared and we had to 
borrow a wagon to return. My brother-in-law, Frederick 
Haeseler, took us on both occasions." 

Mary Ann Schwalm was married to John Hesser, 1842. 
He was b. March 12, 1822, and d. January 18, 1845. One 
daughter was the result of this union, Elizabeth Hesser, b. 



426 BLUE BOOK OF 

Allied Families 

October 26, 1843, d. January 12, 1852. Both are buried in 
the Evangelical cemetery, Orwigsburg. John Hesser was a 
son of Frederick Hesser, drummer boy in the \^^'lr of the 
Revolution, and brother of Henry Hesser. 

Mary A. Hesser, m. Henry Washington Hoffman, 1848, 
Orwigsburg. Henry Hoffman was a cabinet maker. He 
manufactured chairs and ran a factory worked by horsepower 
in Orwigsburg. He removed to Cressona, where he con- 
ducted a furniture shop, subsequently entering the employ 
of the Reading Company at the Cressona shops. He is bur- 
ied at Cressona. Two children were born to them, Carrie 
and Anna. Caroline Louisa Hoffman m. David Stitzer, of 
Cressona, a painter, before the Civil War, when he entered 
the three years' service in the 48th Schuylkill Co. Regiment. 
On his return he was made Despatcher at the Gordon Planes 
of the Mine Hill Railway, a lateral road of the Reading Com- 
pany. On the abandonment of the planes he took charge of 
the company's lumber yards at Pottstown, from where he 
resigned and moved to Rush County, Kansas, where he took 
up several tracts of land and followed ranch life and where 
he died and is buried in the Union cemetery, McCracken, that 
county. They had no children. 

Anna Katherine Hoffman, b. February 10, 1853, m. Edwin 
Krecker, July 19, 1872, d. August 13, 1896, leaving these chil- 
dren: Heber A., Henry F., both m.; Raymond H.. Anna C, 
Louisa H., single, the latter of McCracken, Kan., the others 
reside in Philadelphia. Two children deceased. Edwin 
Krecker was raised in Schuylkill County, where his father, 
Rev. Frederick Krecker, of Revolutionary descent, fdled the 
pastorate of several churches of the Evangelical Association. 
He was employed as w^eighmaster for the Reading Company, 
at Cressona, and removed later to Philadelphia, where he 
was engaged as clerk in the Reading Company offices at the 
Terminal and where he died, being interred in Cressona. 

(Note — Cornelius Hoffman emigrated from Switzerland to Pennsylva- 
nia, 1768, and located in Montgomery County. He was a captain in Col. 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 427 

Allied Families 



Magraw's 6th Penna. Regt., 2d Brig., Continental Line^ 1776, and was 
with Washington when he crossed the Delaware. A sword presented to 
him by General Washington is in possession of the George Hoffman fam- 
ily, formerly of Cressona. Cornelius Hoffman came to Brunswick Town- 
ship, Berks County, about 1780, where he married Elizabeth, da. of Phil- 
lip Alspach, a soldier in the Revolutionary War. Jacob Hoffman, his son, 
m. Catharine Bensinger, whose mother was a Dreher. They settled in 
Orwigsburg, where they had the following children: Lavina, m. — — Feg- 
ley; Catharine m. Jacob Day; George m. Anna, da. of John Morris, of 
Pottsville; Henry W. m. Mrs. Mary A. Hesser; Caroline m. Charles Boyer; 
Elizabeth m. H. Gross; Perry m. Eliza Sillyman. With one or two ex- 
ceptions, all had large families.) 



WILLIAM E. BOYER 



Hannah Elizabeth Schwalm married William^ E. Boyer 
(William^, Charles^ B., John2 Henry, John^ Phillip), 1847; 
born October 29, 1823, d. July 29, 1898. Their children were: 
Francis W., Laura H., and Edmund S. William E. Boyer 
was born in Orwigsburg and came to Pottsville in the early 
forties, entering the tobacco business, in which he was en- 
gaged up to the time of his death. Although nominally in 
the retail business, the latter years of his life were spent in 
whosesaling to other firms. He made many trips to the to- 
bacco fields in the West and in Pennsylvania, his knowledge 
as an expert enabling him to buy up whole crops of the plant 
at a venture and oftentimes with great financial success. He 
amassed a comfortable fortune in the business and was 
looked upon as one of the most successful self made business 
men of Pottsville. 

(Charles B. Boyer, b. about 1758, enlisted December 17, 
1781, Berks County Militia.^) 

Francis W. Boyer, graduate of Hahnemann College, and 
holding degrees from other supplementary medical courses, is 
one of Pottsville's most successful medical practitioners, en- 
joying the confidence and patronage of a large clientele of 
patients and their families in this city and throughout the 



(Note 1— Feb. 17, 1782, Revo. War, Penna. Archives, Vol. 5, p. 293; 
Fifth Series, Vol. 4, p. 256.) 



428 BLUE BOOK OF 

Allied Families 

surrounding county. He m. Caroline (i. Ilammekin (of Gouv- 
erneur, Ogden, old Colonial stock, New England), January 
7, 1874, Pottsville, Pa. On the maternal side, Mrs. Boyer is 
a descendant of Frederick McCutcheon, private, and John 
Ayer, ensign, of the Continental Line, Revolutionary War. 
Their children are : Anne A., teacher in the Pottsville High 
School; Marion G., b. December 26, 1879, d. February 21, 
1896; Gouverneur Boyer, practising physician with offices 
with his father, Pottsville, Pa. ; Laura Frances, Caroline G., 
b. July I, 1888, d. March 9, 1903; Judith McCutcheon Boyer, 
m. James A. Sprenger, of Cressona. July 19, 191 1 ; teacher in 
the Country Day School for Boys, of Boston, at Newtonville, 
Mass., where they reside. They have one child. 

Laura PL Boyer (William E.) married James A. Medlar, 
manager of the Schuylkill Trust Company, Pottsville. He 
was formerly employed in the Reading company offices, was 
a member of the Pottsville School Board, and is interested 
in Y. M. C. A. and other philanthropic work. They had one 
daughter, Louise G., b. June 28, 1881, d. January 3, 1895. 

Edmund S. Boyer (William E.), a prominent lawyer of 
Somersworth, N. H., married Charlotte R. Burleigh, of that 
place. They have two sons: Francis B. and William E., the 
former m., and manager of a paper mill. Charlotte Burleigh, 
wife of Edmund Boyer, traces her ancestry back through the 
Russel, Copp, Robison, Hall, Dudley and Hilton families to 
Edward Hilton, one of the founders of New Hampshire, and 
to Governor John Winthrop of the Massachusetts Bay Col- 
ony. She belongs to the society of the Colonial Dames. 

THE BOYER FAMILY 

The Boyers are descended from the Gallic Boii, who 
were scattered over the Rhine domain during the wandering 
of the races and who were active from the second century. 
The Beyers, Bayers (Boyers) were Huguenots and involved 
in the complications resulting from the revocation of the edict 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 429 

Allied Families 



of Nantes, many fled thence to the Palatinates and about forty 
of that name came to Chester, afterward Montgomery, Lan- 
caster and Berks Counties, before 1775. The first two of 
whom we have any record are Heinrich and Hans Boyer. 
who came from Alsace with the immigrants, i709-'io, and 
settled in Livingston Manor, N. Y., coming to Chester Coun- 
ty (Berks) Pa., with the second influx of immigrants, 1728.1 
(See Pioneer Map for land of Hans Boyer, and History of 
Heinrich Boyer, whose wife was Elizabeth Zerbe, on previ- 
ous page.) 

In 1728 there arrived from Rotterdam a Jacob "Bayer," 
Avife and sons Valentine, Phillip and Jacob, who settled in 
Berks and !\Iontgomery Counties, near the line and from 
whom sprang the Boyers in the vicinity of Boyertown. Col. 
Zaccur PrauU Boyer, (b. 1832, d. 1900) commander of the 96th 
Regt., P. v., Schuylkill County, in the Civil War, was of this 
line. 1731 there arrived others from Grunstadt, Palatinate, 
nine of them in the same vessel and of the same name, who 
settled in the same vicinity. John Phillip Boyer was among 
them. He died 1753 and is buried in Oley, Berks County. 
His son, John Henry, and Grandson Charles B. are both bur- 
ied at Amityville, Berks County. Charles B. had seven sons, 
of whom William^ E. of Orwigsburg, was one^. He had the 
following children with his first wife: Phillip, Rufus, St. 
Clair; Thomas, Iowa; Charles, Pottsville ; Lewis, who went 
to Nebraska; and William E., and one daughter, Maria, wf. 
of John Moyer, Pottsville, all deceased. 



JOHN ANDREW SCHWALM 

Was engaged in the furniture business in Orwigsburg 
prior to the removal of the family to Mahanoy City, where 
he entered the shoe business, being one of the pioneer shoe 

(Note 1 — Colonial History, New York.) 

(Note 2 — Ship Lists, Penna. Archives, 2d Series, Vol. XVII.) 



430 BLUE BOOK OF 

Allied Families 

dealers of that place. He subsequently removed to Shenan- 
doah with his son, where he died and is buried in the Baber 
cemetery, Pbttsville. 

John Andrew Schwalm m. Catharine W. Hoy, December 
25, 1848, da. of Henry Hoy, of Orwigsburg, who was b. May 
5, 1829, d. January 3, 1887. Their children are: 

Emma E., wf. of Albert J. Luberg, d., who was promi- 
nently engaged in the hardware business in Shenandoah when 
he removed to Philadelphia where he engaged in the manu- 
facture of light furniture and the well-known Luberg chair 
upon which he secured a patent. He died March, 1914; c, 
Carrie S., m. Howard L. Kaucher, one da., ; Guy A. Luberg, 
m., and an infant deceased. 

Henry A. Schwalm, wf., Sarah K. Bowman ; c, Stella L., 
b. November 9, 1884. d. February 19, 1907; and Phaon H., 
electrician, of Philadelphia. Mr. Swalm is engaged in the 
merchant tailoring business in Mahanoy City, where the 
family has resided for many years. 

Thomas W. Swalm, one of the prominent homoeopathic 
physicians of Pbttsville, with a lucrative practice. He is 
president of the Pottsville School Board, having been elected 
to serve several terms. He m. Annie T. Rickert, da. of Col. 
Thomas Rickert, of Pottsville. No children. 

Allen H. Swalm, wf. Margaret W. Moflfatt, of Mahanoy 
City. They have two sons, John M., m. Dorris Richards, da. 
of W. J. Richards, Managing Superintendent of the Phila- 
delphia and Reading Coal and Iron Company, and Robert A., 
single. On the removal of A. J. Luberg to Philadelphia, A. 
H. Swalm, with his father, John A., purchased the Luberg 
hardware business, Shenandoah, which he conducted many 
years, removing later to Pottsville, where he became the head 
of the Swalm Hardware Company doing a large business and 
with his sons is also connected with the automobile business 
and Swalm garage. 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 431 

Allied Families 



Joseph M. Schwalm, b. in Orwigsburg, learned the trade 
of coach maker and entered early in that business in Schuyl- 
kill Haven, where he owned property and had a shop about 
two blocks from the Reading- depot. He removed from there 
to Mahanoy City, entering the grocery and truck business, 
his store being one of the leading ones in that line in the city. 
He removed from there to Philadelphia where he died. 
Joseph M. Schwalm married Angelina Boyer Allebach, of 
Middleport, b. December 9, 1828, d. October 29, 1912. Their 
children were ; Andrew J., b. September 22, 1850, d. June. 
1913, m. Martha, da. of William A. Garrett, b. August 7, 
1854, d. April 1, 1906; c, Gertrude L., Florence M. and Marion 
K., d., wf. of E. K. Berlew, of Washington, D. C. They had two 
c, Ebert Garrett, d., b. September 17, 1907, and John Swalm 
Berlew. Andrew J. Swalm was for many years manager of 
the Hooven Grocery Company at Sunbury. where the family 
have a handsome home and where he died. Sallie C. Swalm 
m. Robert A. Harper, of New Castle, Wyoming, rancher and 
English capitalist. No children. Three children deceased. 

Charles O. Swalm m. Carrie M. Oehrle. Is in the fringe, 
upholstery supply manufacturing business, Philadelphia. 
Children : Dr. Charles J. Swalm, pathologist, of the State 
Asylum, Norristown, m. Dr. William A. Swalm and Edna 
Caroline, also a graduated physician at the Women's Hospi- 
tal, Phila., and Ralph O., m. and in business with his father. 

Hannah E. Swalm, m. Madison Plish, November 24, 
1880, live in Hollis, L. I., N. Y. ; da. Marian Pli.sh, teacher. 

Mary E. Swalm, m. Thomas J. Andress. of Philadelphia ; 
children, Mabel S. and Thomas J. 

Ella A. Swalm, teacher in Philadelphia Normal School, 
b. September 3, 1866, d. December 19, 1905. 

Mabel A. Swalm, b. October 2^, 1874, d. July 5, 1899; 
both of the above and the parents are buried in the Evangeli- 
cal cemetery, Orwigsburg. 



432 BLUE BOOK OF 

Allied Families 

Sarah L. Schwalm (Andrew^) m. William M. Zerbey, 
(Zerbe history on previous page.) 

Amanda L. Schwalm m. Thomas Clouse, January i, 1854, 

b. April 4, 1831, d. March 4, 1903; cigar manufacturer and 
wholesaler, of Orwigsburg, with home in the large square 
near the old court house. He was a man of the strictest in- 
tegrity, one of the leading citizens of the town. Their chil- 
dren were : 

Clara L. Clouse, m. Charles W. Yost, owns mill at Lickdale, Lebanon 
County, Pa., where they live; c, Ella S. Yost, teacher of music in the 
public schools of Harrisburg, and Herbert C, at home; one deceased. 

Alice A. Clouse, b. August 17, 1859, d. 1861. 

Ella H. Clouse, m. Newton H. Moyer, underwear manufacturer, of Or- 
wigsburg; lives in handsome home on Main St. No children. 

Franklin S. Clouse, twice married. First wf., Hannah S. Carpenter, 
one child, Clara; 2nd wf., Mrs. C. J. Yates; one son. Chief engineer, 
power house, Phila. Rapid Transit Company. 

Ida M. Clouse, m. George W. Garrett, cashier of the National Bank, of 
Orwigsburg; one son. 

Susan J. Schwalm, m. Thomas K. Wagner, of Schuylkill 
Plaven, Pa. He was a boat builder at Landingville. They 
lived in the old Schwalm homestead, Orwigsburg, until boat 
building at Landingville was abandoned, when they removed 
to Cressona and from there to Rush County, Kan., where they 
took up government land and where both died and are buried. 
Their children were : John A. Wagner, m. Susan A. Wagner, 
of Cressona, prosperous farmer and ranchman. Rush County, 
Kan., insurance and land agent, lives in McCracken, Kan. ; 

c. Bard D., died in young manhood, R. Susan and Bella E., at 
home ; John A., Jr., assistant to his father. 

Hannah Wagner m. John T. Boyle, lives in Chicago, da., 
Edith Boyle. 

Joseph S. Wagner m. Minnie Elias. Lived at Ness City, 
Kan., where he was city clerk for a time and held other politi- 
cal offices. They have a son, Joseph R., and live at present in 
Los Angeles, Cal. Harry Zerbey Wagner and Harvey T. are 
two other sons living in the West. 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 433 
Allied Fa milies ^ 

SCHWALMS OF THE HEGINS VALLEY 

It is claimed that John Schwalm, b. May 31, 1752, came 
to America from Germany, 1775, and settled in Hubley, orig- 
inally Mahantongo Township, Berks (Schuylkill) County, 
1776. He died December 24, 1834. His wife was Odilla Bobb, 
b. February 16, 1765, d. February 24, 1836. The couple are 
buried at Coleman's church, Dauphin County, near the 
boundary line of Schuylkill County. They had but one child, 
Frederick Schwalm, from whom is descended all of the 
Schwalms of the west end of the county, now numbering 
about eight hundred persons of that name and inter-married. 
This branch are mainly farmers, although the professions are 
well represented among the younger representatives ; all are 
a highly prosperous, and intelligent, well-to-do, God-fearnig 
race, some quite wealthy and all respected in the localities in 
which they live. 

Those that have made a research for the early records of 
the Schwalms in this county (Schwalms on previous page) 
find in the fact that John Schwalm (1752) was buried in Dau- 
phin County, where he had at his own expense built a church 
prior to settling in Mahantongo Twp. (This church was 
Mennonitc, afterward United Brethren), the fact substantiated 
that he lived there and migrated to Mahantongo Township, 
Berks County, from another part afterward included in Dau- 
phin County, instead of coming there from Germany as 

claimed. 

The tax lists show a John Schwalm of the third genera- 
tion, (John2, Johni), ^s having lived there, but there is, for 
reasons aforestated, no other record. If John Schwalm, of 
Hubley Township, was this man, then Odilla Bobb was his 
second wife, she having been thirteen years younger. Andrew 
Schwalm. of the other line, of the fourth generation, and 
John Schwalm, grandson of John (1752) were well acquaint- 
ed with each other and claimed kinship, although tradition 
does not state how it was proven. 



434 BLUE BOOK OF 

Allied Families 

Frederick^ Schwalm (John\ 1752), first wf. Catharine, 
with Avhom he had thirteen children, six of whom 
are now living. Second wf., Sarah Sufhng-, no issue ; third 
wf., Harriet Dieter, three children. They were : William, re- 
tired farmer, Valley View, m., has family: Emanuel, Post- 
master, Hegins ; Daniel, farmer, Hegins ; Peter, retired far- 
mer, Reiner Cit}-, 1). August 21, 1836; twin sister, Catharine, 
Indiana ; Louisa, Illinois. All married, with large families ; 
Jackson liv^es in Hegins Township ; two deceased. John 
Schwalm. son of Frederic, b. Mahantongo Twp., December 
25, 1818, served two years, i857-'58, as steward of the Schuyl- 
kill County Almshouse. His father, Frederick, was a director 
of the first public school in the township. Samuel, brother 
of Peter, served three years and three months in the Civil 
War, Peter taking charge of his farm. Peter bought the 
Schrob grist mill and farm of 129 acres, which he improved 
until it is now one of the model farms of the county, and upon 
which his son George M. lives, Peter having built a residence 
in Reiner City, to which he retired. He has been school di- 
rector and tax collector, and is a member of the Reformed 
church at Orwin. He married Maria Schrob, b. October 29, 
1843, by whom he had seven children, two deceased : Ira, wf. 
of Elizabeth Jobe ; son Elbert, Ellsworth, farmer, Hegins 
Township, seven children; Albert T. (son of George), school 
teacher for eighteen years. Porter Twp. ; William O., retired 
merchant, Tower City. John P., hardware merchant, Rei- 
nerton. 

Emanuel Schwalm and wf. Maria had eight children. 
Son, Morris, for thirteen years assistant on the survey of 
Schuylkill County, and for nine years managed a farm for 
Preston Miller, of the State Survey Corps. Charles is fore- 
man in a chair factory, Sheboygan, Wis. 

Alfred A. Schwalm, of Hegins, one of the prominent men 
of that name in the West End, Justice of the Peace, lives re- 
tired, farming a small tract more for pleasure and recreation 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 435 

Allied Families 



than remuneration. He was engaged in school teaching for 
nineteen years. He married Alvaretta Fisher, by whonihe 
had four 'children. He has educational certificates of high 
order and owns a fine library. He was a son of William and 
Sarah Schwalm. 

Joseph Schwalm is a prosperous merchant of Pinegrove, 
with one of the largest stores in that town. His mother, 
Sarah (Deibert), of Orwigsburg. wf. of William Schwalm, 
died 1904, aged 65 years. Joseph Schwalm worked on the 
farm, taught school and clerked in Pine Grove before em- 
barking- in business for himself, being now one of the leading 
merchants. He married Lizzie Saltzer, by whom he had 
seven children: Alvin Quay, Allen Clay (twins), Harry, Guy 
Stanford, Esther, living. Mr. Schwalm was president^ of 
borough council three years, but declined renommation. 

Andrew J. Schwalm, of Klingerstown, secretary and his- 
torian of the Schwalm Family Association, lives at Klingers- 
town He owns a tract of land and is in the green grocery 
and truck business. He is married and has four children: 
Andrew J. Schwalm, (Daniel E., John, Frederick, John). 

The Schwalms are family men and it would be impossi- 
ble to note all of their connections and the names of their 
offspring. If the reader doubts this assertion let him visit the 
annual family reunion held annually, August 15, at Valley 
View, and he will verify it beyond a doubt. The following is 
an incomplete list of the heads : 

Schwalms of Hubley Township, Formerly Mahantongo. 

Henry C. Schwalm, Fearnot ; Samuel R Schwalm, Val- 
ley View; Rev. Clarence Schwalm, Valley View; A. T. 
Schwalm, Muir; Henry G. Schwalm. Fearnot; Albert 
Schwalm, Klingerstown; Ellsworth Schwalm, Valley View; 
Frank Schwalm, Valley View; M. S. Schwalm, Hegins ; 
Samuel E. Schwalm, Flegins; Harrison Schwalm, Elkhart, 



436 



BLUE BOOK OF 
Allied Families 



Ind. ; Ellis Schwalm, Valley View ; Reilly Schwalm, Donald- 
son ; Daniel E. Schwalm, Valley View ; A. P. Schwalm, Klin- 
gerstown ; S. E. Schwalm, Hegins ; A. A. ScliAvalm, Valley 
View; C. H. Schwalm, Gratz ; Harvey Schwalm, Williams- 
town ; William and Clarence Schwalm. Williamstown ; Ezra 
Schwalm, Tremont ; Ira Schwalm, Valley View; John 
Schwalm, Samuel Schwalm, Frank 11. Schwalm, S. E. 
Schwalm and Ellis P. Schwalm, all of Valley View. 

Of the many women of the Schwalm family, over a hun- 
dred of them have intermarried with other families and no 
record of them has been taken for these pages. 

(Note — Some of the younger raember.s of lhi.s branch have adopted 
"Swalm" as the spelling of their name.") 




SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 437 

Pottsville Erected 



Pottsville Erected 



THE GREAT ROAD OR KING'S HIGHWAY 



fHE Lightfoot survey, of 1759, was the forerunner of the 
Great Road or King's Highway, built 1770. This sur- 
vey led from Reading to Fort Augusta, Shamokin (now 
Smabury)'. From the Conrad Minnich tract (Seven Stars. 
Manheim Twp.). on which there was a roadhouse when the 
road was built, 1770, and from Francis Yarnall's tract ad- 
joining, there was not a single dwelling till Fort Augusta was 
reached, where food or shelter for the surveyors could be 
obtained. Nothing but a howling wilderness for a distance 
of forty miles. 

January 30, 1768, Governor John Ptenn laid before the 
Provincial Council, a petition from the people of Berks County, 
stating that "the building of such a road to the head of the 
Susquehanna would tend greatly to advance trade and com- 
merce with the Indians." 

The route of this road followed the "Tulpehocken 
Path," and was completed early in 1771. At Pottsville it 
crossed the Schuylkill opposite the Pottsville Hospital and 
wound around the hill to East Norwegian Street, fording 
both branches of the river. One branch of the road ran up 
the hill (near the Robert Ramsey residence) and wound 
around where the Henry Clay monument stands, and out 
along the famous Indian Path to near Fifteenth and Mahan- 
tongo Streets, where it descended on the Arthur Sheafer 
grounds, then to York Farm, and finally joined the branch 



438 BLUE BOOK OF 

Pottsville Erected 

that ran along Coal Street and over the Bnll's Head road to 
Minersville and thence to Sunbury. 

THE SWATARA ROAD 

At court, held November 6, 1811, in Reading, before 
Judge Porter, viewers reported that they had laid out a 
public road, in pursuance of an order from court, through the 
lands of Thomas Lightfoot, John Reed, Jacob Faust, Phillip 
Klauser, Martin Dreibelbis, to Mathias Bechtold's, on the old 
Sunbury road, through the Swatara Gap, a distance of four- 
teen miles, to the "Great Road." The first report was made 
August, 181 1. The viewers were: George Raush, Jacob 
Dreher, Daniel Bensinger, William Green and George Orwig 
(all from the vicinity of McKeansburg). They received 
seventy-five cents, each per day for the work, which was 
afterward increased to one dollar. — (Court house records.) 

THE FIRST TURNPIKE ROAD 

In America was chartered, April 9, 1792. It was sixty- 
two miles in length and extended from Philadelphia to 
Lancaster. The Germantown and Perkiomen road, of 
twenty-five miles, and the Perkiomen and Reading road, of 
twenty-nine miles followed. The Centre Turnpike, of 
seventy-five miles, was chartered and incorporated March 25, 
1805. It connected Reading with the Susquehanna at Sun- 
bury. Its course ran through Pottsville on what is now 
Centre Street, out to where the Odd Fellows' and Catholic 
cemeteries are located, and thence to Sunbury. Centre 
Street was then a vast marsh and the lowest points, from 
Mauch Chunk Street to the gas house, were filled in with 
logs and stones, the first "Corduroy Road" in this vicinity. 

EARLY STAGES 

John Coleman ran stages once a week from Reading to 
Sunbury and back, carrying the mail. On June 27, 1829, a 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 439 

Pottsville Erected 

daily mail commenced running between Philadelphia and 
Pottsville. So great was the traffic that soon after it started 
three wagons were required to convey the passengers and 
in 1830 there were three stage lines competing for the traf- 
fic, the "Clover," the "Reside," and the "Coleman." The 
time for leaving Pottsville was two o'clock in the morning 
and the time of arrival in Philadelphia was eight P. M. of the 
same day. 

THE SCHUYLKILL CANAL 

March 8, 181 5, an Act was passed by the Pennsylvania 
Legislature incorporating the Schuylkill Navigation Com- 
pany. The work was divided into two sections extending 
from Philadelphia to Reading and from that city to Mill 
Creek, Schuylkill County. The distance was loS 2-3 miles 
and the canal Avas completed and open to navigation, 1821. 
In 1825 the port at Mt. Carbon was doing a large business in 
the shipment of lumber and merchandise. 

FIRST RAILWAYS IN AMERICA 

At the close of 1826 there were only two railroads in 
America with the following mileage : Leiper, tram road, at 
the stone quarries, Crum Creek, Delaware County, Penn- 
sylvania, mileage, one mile. Quincy, tram road. Quincy. 
Mass., mileage, three miles. April 8, 1826, the Danville, 
Northumberland County, and Pottsville, Schuylkill County, 
railroad was incorporated. This road passed through man}- 
misfortunes and finally became insolvent in 1842. and was 
sold at sheriit's sale, January 16, 1851. 

In 1826 x\braham Heebner, of Port Carbon, built a rail- 
way one half mile in length to connect liis mines with the 
Schuylkill Canal. 

MT. CARBON RAILWAY 

An Act to incorporate the Mount Carbon Railway Com- 
pany passed the Legislature 1829. The Mine Plill Railroad 



440 BLUE BOOK OF 

Pottsville Erected 

was chartered March 24, 1828, and was built to the canal 
landing, Schuylkill Haven, October 8, 1831. The main line 
extended from Schuylkill Haven to Locust Gap. It was 
leased to the Reading Company May 12, 1864. The Schuyl- 
kill Valley railway was built to the coal landing, Port Car- 
bon, 1830. The Mt. Carbon railway extended from Mt. Car- 
bon to Mt. Laffee and Wadesville. Horses and mules w^ere 
first used. When engines were adopted the roads using them 
reserved the right to return to horses if the locomotives did 
not prove practicable. These cars for the carrying of coal 
and freight only, did not run faster than three or four miles 
an hour. 

Ground was broken, 1835, for the Philadelphia and Read- 
ing railway, from Mt. Carbon to "Philadelphia. In 1827 a 
dissension arose as to the name of the new borough, Potts- 
ville, incorporated 1828. Mt. Carbon wanted to be the main 
city and wanted the name of the combined settlements to 
be called Lewisport. January i, 1842, the first trip of ninety- 
one miles, from Mt. Carbon to Fairmount, was made over 
the Reading railway and consumed eight hours. The cars 
were miniature affairs and the engines were small, and as 
compared with the trains of the present day, they looked like 
toy engines and cars. 

FIRST DISCOVERY OF COAL 

The Norway and Pinegrove tracts, in Norwegian and 
Manheim Townships, were surveyed, 1766. William^ Scull 
(Nicholas-, Nicholas^ Scull) was of the third generation of 
surveyors of that name. His father, Nicholas^ Scull, had 
surveyed other tracts in this township, and his grand- 
father, Nicholas^ vScull, was Surveyor General of Pennsyl- 
vania. In 1769 William Scull and William Maclay were 
employed to fix the boundary lines between Berks and 
Northampton County, and near where Ashland now stands 
they noticed the existence of coal. The map of his grand- 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 441 

Pottsville Erected 

father, Nicholas^ Scull, published 1/59, contained "coal 
points.", (Nicholas^ Scull died 1761), which no doubt famil- 
iarized him with the situation. On Scull's map, published 
1770, one of these "coal points" is made at "Schuylkill Gap" 
(Tuscarora Mountain). This was the first discovery of coal 
in Schuylkill County. 

To two Indian chiefs from the Wyoming Valley, who 
visited England in 1710, and their tribes, is attributed the 
first discovery of "stone" or anthracite coal. They took with 
them to the mother country a bag of the black stones, which 
were experimented with for smithing purposes. The red 
men had rude species of mines in that valley and in 1766, 
six of their number, from the Mohicans and Nanticokes, vis- 
ited Philadelphia and told the Colonial Governor how white 
men came and took away from them, ore and the product of 
their mines. The whites made a hole forty feet long and 
five or six feet deep and carried away the coal in their canoes, 
using it for blacksmithing. 

About 1790 and 1791, Nicho Allen, who lived at Big 
Spring on the summit of Broad Mountain, and Phillip 
Ginther, of Lehigh County, and one Tomlinson, of North- 
umberland County, all three, discovered coal, through the 
uprooting of trees, and as the legend goes, ignited it to warm 
themselves by it while out hunting. 

In cutting a tail race for the Valley Furnace, in 1806, coal 
was discovered near Pottsville. About 1800 William Morris 
took a load of it from near Mill Creek to Philadelphia. 
(Richard, Samuel, George and John Rickert were early pio- 
neers in the coal business.) George Rickert and George 
Shoemaker loaded wagons with the black stufif and hauled 
them to the same destination. 

FIRST SETTLERS OF NORWEGIAN TOWNSHIP 

In Manheim Township, about 1768, on the site of the 
Seven Stars Hotel (Minnich Genealogy) lived Conrad Min- 



442 BLUE BOOK OF 

Pottsville Erected 

nich ; Henry Strauch lived on the other side of the river. 
Others were engaged in lumbering and other enterprises be- 
tween there and the site of Pottsville, but lived elsewhere. 
John Reed and wife, Hannah, lived between Conrad Min- 
nich's and Neyman's (on the site of the Pottsville Hospital), 
in the dense forest. To Neyman, the wood sawyer for Balzar 
Gehr, may be accredited the honor of being the first settler 
of Pottsville. 

On April 7, 1795, Jacob Zoll, innkeeper of Reading, pur- 
chased a tract of land in Orwigsburg, part of which was sub- 
sequently used as a tannery by his descendants. In 1796 
Zoll removed to the site of the Greenwood furnace (Orchard, 
Pottsville), where he established a small forge. The Indians 
so harassed him, and his wife dying of malaria, he became 
discouraged and returned to Orwigsburg, selling his effects 
to Lewis Reese, of Reading, and Isaac Thomas, who owned 
tracts of land^ on the north side of "Schneid" Berg, i796-'99. 
Joseph Zoll was born in the log cabin attached to the forge 
and next to the Neyman children was the first white child 
born in this vicinity. He was frequently heard remark (he 
died at Orwigsburg at the age of ninety-seven) that, "P'otts- 
ville, should have been called "Zollville" and not "Butts- 
ville2." 

The Greenwood furnace stood on the corner of what is 
now Coal and Mauch Chunk Streets, the Valley furnace was 
located between these and New Philadelphia. When Isaac 
Thomas, Lewis Reese and Lewis Morris, who also owned 
land here and came after the foregoing, enlarged and rebuilt 
the Zoll forge, they sent workmen here to dig a race and 
build a dam. Among them was John Reed, mentioned 



(Note l^James Wilson, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, 
an owner of coal lands in Norwegian Twp., was interested with Reese and 
Thomas, his name appearing on a deed in possession of Jacob Spannuth, of 
Pottsville, Pa.) 

(Note 2 — Pottsville, too, it is asserted, was named for William 
Potts, of Pottstown, owner of coal lands, and not for John Pott (Putt), 
who came long after Potts.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 443 

Pottsville Erected 

above, who removed from the forest to near the site of the 
Pottsville Hospital, where Jeremiah Reed was born, Decem- 
ber 19, 1800. In 1804 John Pott bought from Lewis Reese, 
Isaac Thomas and Sarah Morris, the furnace and ground 
upon which the settlement had been made (for there were 
other settlers living here, at that date, who worked at the 
forge and grist mill, Stein's Mill). Lewis Reese had no 
children ; Isaac Thomas had several, one of whom, Isaac 
Thomas, lived in a log cabin at the forks of the Schuylkill 
and Norwegian Creek, which he named "Norway," and from 
this the Norway and Norwegian tracts and subsequently the 
townships were named. The purchase of John Pott also 
included the ground of the Minnich, Zoll, Mayfield, Wilson, 
Moorfield and Physic tracts of land in Norwegian Township. 

WHEN POTTSVILLE WAS BUILT 

On April 27, 1808, Lewis Reese sold to John Pott, two 
hundred and twenty-seven acres of land, which covers the 
old site of Pottsville, and a straggling row of houses was 
built, i8o6-'o8, to accommodate the workmen. The town 
was laid out in 1816, to which subsequent additions were 
made, but Pottsville was not regularly incorporated as a 
Borough until 1828. John Pott removed here in 1810. He 
died October 23, 1827. 

John White, in 1829, President of the Schuylkill Navi- 
gation Company, built the Kleinert mansion and the block 
of houses opposite, afterward included in the Mansion House 
block, Mt. Carbon. In 1818 Henry Donnelly built a log 
house where Penn Hall now stands. There was one house in 
the town plot, 1816, Schwoyer's, near corner of Railroad and 
Union Streets, when the town was laid out. Others fol- 
lowed, in 1818, George Dengler built a two story hotel on 
the site of the Allan House ; a log house was put up by John 
Pott on the corner where the Episcopal church stands ; 
William Casserly erected one on the corner opposite, occu- 



444 BLUE BOOK OF 

Pottsville Erected 

pied now by Miller's; an oil mill and distillery was estab- 
lished on the northwest corner of East Norwegian and Rail- 
road Streets by John Pott, Jr. ; Joseph Blockley built a log 
house where the Reading telegraph office and N. C. Morrison's 
store now stand, and the Cheney's built a log house on the 
site of Centennial Hall ; the log school house was built cor- 
ner of Centre and Race Streets, and others followed until 
1824, when there was a straggling row along Centre Street, 
and other houses began to be erected on the three intersect- 
ing main streets until the town was incorporated. March ti, 
1828. 

1829 — Ten houses were erected on Coal Street, ten on 
Mahantongo, called Clinton Row, on site of the late Academy. 
1830 the present Miners' Bank was erected and ten small 
frame houses on Coal Street, where the Pennsylvania Rail- 
road watchbox now stands, near Callowhill (East Arch 
Street) ; the two stone houses, Fifth and Mahantongo 
Streets ; and "Pleasant Row," between Sixth and Seventh, 
Mahantongo Street. Jacob Alter was a prominent builder 
engaged on the above. John C. OfTerman, above referred to, 
who lived and kept store where the D., P. & S.'s store now 
stands, corner Centre and Mahantongo Streets, built the ten 
small stone houses known as the "Hospital" (owing to the 
upper part of them having been used as such during an epi- 
demic of smallpox and for a short time subsequently.) John 
Shippen, James Beatty and James Carpenter built three brick 
residences where the P. & R. Company building novv' stands, 
Mahantongo, near Second Street, and E. Fister, John Ruch 
and A. K. Whitner followed with the three stone houses in 
the square above Third and Mahantongo Streets. 

Job Rich and the father of Ben Erdman (who died in 
1913 at the age of 97), came to Pottsville in 1824. Dr. James 
Carpenter came 1829. Hugh Carlin, 1832. John C. Offer- 
man was an early progressive citizen. He was a one armed 
man but did much for the advancement of the borough. 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 
Pottsville Erected 



445 



Other progressive citizens who came later from 1828 to 1850 
were: Samuel Heffner, the Gillinghams, Mardis, P. W. 
Sheaffer, Decatur Nice, Christopher Loeser. Charles Witman. 
Judge E. O. Parry (N. H.), Charlemagne Tower (N. Y.). 
Dr. Chichester. Charles Frailey, Samuel Lewis, George 
Halberstadt, M. D., Lebbeus Whitney, Thomas Walker, the 
Taylors, Ruchs. Hills, Mills, George M. Gumming, Francis 
B. Nichols, John Crosland, Benjamin Heywood, G. W. Sny- 
der, the Bocams, Thomas Hopkins, C. M. Baber, Samuel 
,Sillyman. Charles M. Atkins, the Fosters (Mass.), John Ship- 
pen, Bosbyshells, Hiram Parker, James Beatty. Robert 
Woodside, Yardleys, Charles Hill, Nathan Wetzel. Wooli- 
sons. Lords, Emanuel Hause, Samuel Griscom. Jacob Ulmer, 
and others ot more recent date. 




446 



BLUE BOOK OF 
Old Time Stories 




^ifff^ 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 447 

Old Time Stories 



Old Time Stories 



STORIES RELATED OF JUDGE HEGINS 



NE of the early jurists of the Schuylkill County Courts 
was Charles W. Hegins, appointed 1850. Judge 
Hegins had a fine legal acumen and was noted for his 
strict technical jurisprudence and unswerving probity of 
character. He was afflicted with curvature of the spine and 
like King Richard HI, was badly humpbacked. 

The court was held at the old county seat of Orwigsburg 
before the seat of justice was removed to Pottsville. 

Pine Swamp, in Brunswick Township, was the home of 
a mongrel race of a bad mixture of negroes, whites and half- 
breed Indians, some of them runaway slaves, and criminals 
and fugitives from justice. They maintained themselves by 
hunting, fishing, basket making and stealing from the far- 
mers, working at intervals during haying and harvesting. 

One of these, a negro, was arraigned before the court 
for stealing a ham and sausages from a neighboring farmer. 
He was sentenced by Judge Hegins to one year's imprison- 
ment in the county jail. 

The negro could only speak Pennsylvania German and 
being inclined to resent the mandate of the court, shouted 
across the aisle in the prevailing vernacular to one of his cro- 
nies who was seated there : 

"Wass hut der Shillgrut ksawt?" (What did the mud 
turtle say?) 

"Two years," said Judge Hegins. 



448 BLUE BOOK OF 

Old Time Stories 

DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE 

Judge Hegins was a bachelor and boarded at the Penn- 
sylvania Hall Hotel, where Washington Garrett served as 
mixologist. Every morning he fixed up a fancy cocktail as 
an e>e-opener for the Judge, who was not an intemperate 
man but a good liver; and "Wash" did his best to tickle his 
palate with a drink with all the "frills" in it. 

Garrett got into trouble with a neighbor and suit was 
brought against him. Judge Hegins had so frequently ex- 
pressed his appreciation of "Wa.sh's" efforts to please his 
tastes that he thought the Judge might do him a favor and he 
related to him the circumstances and asked him to favor him 
when the suit was brought up before court. 

Judge Hegins replied : "Washie, you had better settle 
that case, I am not the same man up at that bar, if you come 
before me, that I am when I come before you, at your bar." 

The case was settled. Judge Hegins died about 1855 and 
was succeeded by E. O. Parry, who was appointed Judge by 
the Governor. 

(Washington Garrett was in the Mexican War and a 
good soldier.) 



LONE GRAVE IN TUMBLING RUN VALLEY 

On the south side of Tumbling Run Mountain (Sharp) 
is a lone grave in the wilds. It has a small headstone and 
on it a rude inscription, which deciphered states, that Nathan 
Webb, hunter, lies beneath the mound. The Joseph Webb 
family, father of Mrs. Samuel Gumpert, of Pottsville, lived in 
the Tumbling Run Valley. An Obadiah Webb, of Manheim 
Township, bought a town lot in Orwigsburg, 1795. They 
were of the same family, doubtless, brothers and sons of John 
Webb, settled on land (near McKeansburg, 1750.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 449 

Old Time Stories 

A POTTSVILLE AMAZONIAN 

Hannah Gough, who kept a hotel on the site of the Phila- 
delphia and Reading Railway depot, Pottsville, was a large 
woman and conducted her place as orderly as could be ex- 
pected in the early days, along in the 'sixties, with the rough 
element that came down from the mountain to attend court 
or other business and who visited Hannah Cough's in droves 
before going home. Often she was compelled to clear out her 
bar room before train time, that its patrons might sprint 
down Railroad Street to Union to the station. Or if on a 
Saturday night after pay, the crowd became too unruly, she 
alone and unassisted, put out the unlucky offenders. 

,Her fearlessness and prowess as a queller of disturb- 
ances was often a subject of comment. She kept a number 
of boarders too, and one day one of them propounded this 
question at the table : 

"What is stronger than Hannah Gough ?" 

No one could answer, when he said, "Her butter." 



HOW THE WOLVES WERE EXTERMINATED. 

In the early history of the county wild animals abounded. 
Wolves, catamounts and panthers terrorized the tillers of the 
soil, who seldom left their humble abodes without a shot gun 
or rifle. The depredations of wolves about butchering time 
in the late Fall of the year, when they scented the odor from 
the freshly killed domestic animals, were particularly annoy- 
ing and dangerous. 

After the war of 1812 the U. S. government ordered the 
sale of all condemned horses (a precedent established that was 
followed at the close of the Civil War). 



450 BLUE BOOK OF 

Old Time Stories 

These animals were sold for a mere song and hundreds 
of them were bought by the Pennsylvania farmers, many of 
them being brought to Schuylkill County. 

An old Pottsville settler (Jeremiah Reed), said that, 
"from close confinement in the vessels in which they were 
transported, these horses contracted the glanders." The far- 
mers worked them as long as they could, in most cases iso- 
lating them from their other cattle and when no longer fit 
to work, took them out into the woods and shot them. The 
wolves came in packs and devoured them, were poisoned by 
the score and died. This exterminated the wolves. 



OLD NORTHKILL CHURCH, BERNVILLE 

The old Northkill Church, built of logs, stood upon an 
acre of ground donated December 25, 1745, by Gottfried Fid- 
ler, to which Samuel Filbert subsequently gave another acre 
to be used for church and cemetery purposes. Each acre was 
in the form of a triangle, the two making a perfect square. 
In 1 791 the old log was superseded by a brick structure, which 
was in turn replaced by the handsome red sandstone building 
erected 1897. This church was Lutheran until 1834, when 
the Reformed people obtained an interest in it. John Caspar 
Stoever was pastor of the log church, 1745. 

It is related that one of the original donors of the land 
upon which the log church stood, committed suicide and was 
buried outside of the stone wall that surrounded the ceme- 
tery. Subsequent generations of this man discovered his 
tomb and on applying to the church authorities for a lot, his 
remains were re-interred in the cemetery to which, and to 
the church, he had been a generous contributor during his 
life time. (The "Penn Germania," January, 1913, Vol. 11, 
No. I, contains a partial list of those persons, born prior to 
1801, from inscriptions taken from the tombstones in this 
cemetery.) 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 451 

Old Time Stories 

HOW DEVIL'S HOLE WAS NAMED 

Tuyful's Loch obtained its name from an Orwigsburg- 
peddler who traveled about the southern part of the county 
about 181 1, soon after it was separated from Berks. As is 
well known the section of the country along the Blue Moun- 
tains, between Port Clinton and Tamaqua, is among the 
wildest and most picturesque to be found anywhere, either 
in the United States or abroad. Several spurs of the moun- 
tain unite here separated in the prehistoric ages by a mighty 
upheaval of nature and the wierd result is a huge bowl-like 
series of short valleys or outlets between the mountains, 
which tower high above them on every side, throwing their 
shadows on the limpid and silvery stream at the foot even 
on the brightest sunshiny day. The rocky declivities are 
covered with moss, and during the spring or after heavy 
rains these rocks are overflown, forming cascades and water 
falls adding to the scene which is one of indescribable beauty 
and grandeur. 

The peddler with his pack had been gone on his accus- 
tomed trip, but not arriving home at the usual time, his 
family became alarmed. At last he came looking rather the 
worse for his experience ; he had lost himself in the wilds, 
and on being questioned said : "Ich wahr drei tag im Tuyful's 
sei Loch, uhn bin yusht rouse cumma." And Devil's Hole 
it has been called ever since. 



"SIILY BILLY" BUSINESS 

The foolish claims, on the part of many persons who 
may, perhaps, be of the same name as some great dignitary 
abroad, or military chief who achieved distinction in the early 
wars in Europe or America, to establish a relationship with 
them or claim them as founders of their families, is becoming 



452 BLUE BOOK OF 

Old Time Stories 

a craze with some in this country. The story of a Pottsville 
man, whom we will call Platz (it was not his name) is 
apropos of this foolishness. The Pottsville man had achieved 
some distinction and was highly popular in his home town, 
when he went abroad. 

Traveling in Germany he heard of a Von Platz, who 
stood high at the German court and belonged to the Royal 
family. With characteristic American independence, Platz 
visited the royal castle and sent in his card, "Herr Platz, 
Pottsville, Pennsylvania, United States of America," and 
requested an interview with his supposed august relative (?). 
He could not obtain an audience with General Von Platz and 
the court police, or royal flunkeys, surrounded him on the 
return of the emissary, he had liberally tipped to represent 
him and he was told in the vernacular (German was his 
mother tongue) "to make himself scarce at once or he would 
be arrested and imprisoned as an imposter." Platz was cured 
of his desire to connect himself with the German aristocracy 
and no one relished the story more than Platz himself on his 
return. 

Another story of Platz, who died some years since, was, 
that, like many a good man he dreaded death, and was very 
explicit in his directions as to what he wanted done when he 
was ready to "shuflfle off this mortal coil." His good wife 
demurred at the multiplicity of directions he gave, as death 
drew near, when he remarked, "Never mind, Maria, I have 
to do the dying, not you." 



OH! POOR NATTY MILLS 

One of the good old tales handed down by a resident of 
Orwigsburg is to this effect: 

At a political meeting held in the ancient county seat. 
Lawyer Neville and Natty Mills had a little tilt between 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 453 

Old Time Stories 

them that gave origin to the poetical saw on Mills that was 
afterward so popular, appearing on the banners of his po- 
litical opponent and sung by the Whig Clubs as they 
marched along. 

In the course of his speech Mr. Neville said : 

"Oh! poor Natty Mills, 

Oh ! Poor Natty Mills, 

We'll give him a dose of castor oil 

And then a dose of pills." 

Not to be outdone Natty Mills, who was on the plat- 
form and succeeded the speaker, retorted : 

"Oh ! poor Lawyer Neville, 
A native very queer, 
One leg he left in Ireland, 
The other one is here." 

Neville was a one-legged Irishman and Natty Mills a 
popular local Democratic politician, who kept a hotel on the 
corner of Second and West Arch Streets, Pottsville. 

The same resident of Orwigsburg, at this writing, 1914, 
eighty years of age, is authority for the statement that 
Charlemagne Tower, Esq., of Philadelphia, late Ambassa- 
dor to the German Empire, was not, as claimed, born in 
Pottsville, Pennsylvania, but in New York. The Tower 
family lived in Pottsville, northwest corner of Fourth and 
Mahantongo Streets. Mr. Tower was raised and educated 
in the place ; before his birth, however, his mother, Mrs. 
Mulvina Tower, visited friends in New York and the ac- 
couchment took place in that State. The house in which 
the Tower family first lived prior to coming to Pottsville, 
a modest two-story frame building opposite the Evangelical 
Church, Orwigsburg, was razed this summer, 1914, to make 
way for a more modern dwelling. 



454 BLUE BOOK OF 

Old Time Stories 

COULD NOT BE FOOLED 

When the first train came up to Mount Carbon after 
the Reading railroad was built, January i, 1842, it excited 
considerable curiosity and the people assembled along the 
line to see it pass. 

The cars were small box cars and the engine was a 
miniature affair that puffed and snorted and seemed to move 
with great effort and the train was four hours late from 
Reading. 

On the knoll at Auburn a crowd of people from the 
surrounding country waited to see the "iron monster" and 
discuss the merits of such locomotion. 

After the train passed an old lady, much excited, jumped 
up and waved her arms and said : "Kannscht mich net foolah, 
'sin guile unner die inchine, Ich hab sie gesehne schnaufe" 
("You can't fool me, there were horses under the engine, I 
saw them breathing.") 

Note : — When the Reading railway was completed from 
Reading to Mount Carbon, trucks with planks laid across 
them for seats, were provided for such as chose to avail them- 
selves of free transportation and try a ride on the new road. 
Many took, as they imagined, their lives in their hands when 
they ventured to take advantage of the new method of locomo- 
tion. When General Winfield Scott, commander in chief of the 
United States army, visited Pottsville, after the close of the 
Mexican War, a like privilege was afforded by the Reading 
Company to the people from the southern end of the county. 




SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 455 

Old Time Stones 

HESSIAN ANCESTORS 

February 22, 1776, and after, nearly 30,000 German troops 
were sent to aid the British during the Revolutionary War, 
more than half being- furnished by the Prince of Hesse-Cas- 
sel. All were called "Hessians" by the Americans, although 
over 6,000 were from Brunswick and 7,000 from other smaller 
principalities. 

Most of these men were serving compulsory terms in the 
German armies when they were sold by their mercenary rul- 
ers to the British and sent to fight the colonists. The de- 
scendants of some of these are among the leading families 
of Pennsylvania and Virginia. Some were mere students and 
others were men of high education and some brought their 
wives and children with them, all were sufferers of military 
despotism. In 1785, several families who were of the 1000 
or more encamped as prisoners at Reading, who had deter- 
mined to remain in this country, crossed the Blue Mountains 
and after some wandering settled in the extreme western end 
of what is now Pottsville. They called the little village 
"Hesse Stettle," which name was finally merged into that of 
Yorkville. The Hessians were frugal and industrious and 
their descendants are among Pottsville's best citizens. 



FROM WILLS PROBATED BEFORE 1800, NAMING 
EARLY SETTLERS OF SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 

(Berks County Register's Office) 

1795, November 2, Peter Neuschwender, Manheim Twp. 

1798, August 20, Peter Buechler, Pinegrove Twp. 

1799, October 15, Martin Dreibelbis, Manheim Twp. 
1799, December 24, Jacob Schnell, Manheim Twp. 
1785, October 19, John Dietrich Fahl, Brunswick Twp. 



h^a-C' 



456 



SCHUYLKILL CO. BLUE BOOK 
Old Time Stories 



1788, February 28, Ludwig- Herring, Innkeeper, Bruns- 
wick Twp. 

1793, August 27, Jacob Kimmel, Brunswick Twp. 
1799, March 4, John Kopp, Pinegrove Twp. 

1798, June 25, Peter Meyer, Manheim Twp. 

1788, January 12, Balzer Neufang, Brunswick Twp. 
1795, June 22, Matthews Reich, Manheim Twp. 
1785, June 22, John Runckle, Brunswick Twp. 
1793, May 4, Frederick Schnock, Pinegrove Twp. 

1789, May II, Jacob Sheaf er, Brunswick Twp. 

1785, March 25, Richard Stephens. Brunswick Twp. 

1799, October 21, Simon Strause, Manheim Twp. 

1786, October 2, George Jacob Ulrich. Pinegrove Twp. 




